Nevertheless, this appears to be one of several recent cases, with the others taking place in the U.S., in which a perpetrator of an indiscriminate mass casualty event at a school has been described as having a trans identity. People, being pattern-seeking creatures, are noticing what may look like an emergent trend and drawing conclusions without the methodological rigor that epidemiologists and other data scientists would insist upon. Influencers and politicians who are ideologically opposed to the very notion of transness are quick to seize on these narratives to spread fear and hatred toward the trans community, the vast majority of whom are law-abiding, decent, and simply trying to build good lives and contribute to those around them. At the same time, we see the trans community and its advocates falling into familiar patterns: asserting that inquiry into this phenomenon is inherently transphobic, and gravitating toward alternative explanations that may feel more comforting but remain unproven.






