Midtown Manhattan erupted into chaos Monday after a mass shooter stormed a high-rise building. The suspect, 27-year-old Shane Tamura, wielded an AR-15 rifle and killed four people—including a brave NYPD officer—before taking his own life. Security footage showed Tamura donning sunglasses and a mustache as he entered the 44-story tower.
CNN anchor Erin Burnett immediately sparked outrage by claiming authorities described the shooter as “possibly white.” Critics blasted her for rushing to label ethnicity when Tamura’s real identity remained unknown. Social media exploded with accusations of racial bias, with many noting the suspect appeared darker-skinned in leaked images.
Tamura’s true backstory revealed stunning contradictions. Police initially considered Middle Eastern ethnicity, not whiteness, as a possible factor. Yet Burnett parroted partial police descriptions anyway—a move some called “desperate left-wing narrative-buying.” Conservative commentators accused CNN of revising reality to fit anti-white talking points.
The backlash decimated CNN’s dwindling credibility. Twitter users mocked Burnett’s hasty speculation, sharing side-by-side images of Tamura’s actual appearance versus the “possibly white” claim. Memes flooded social media, labeling the network #FakeNewsCentral for prioritizing agendas over facts.
Tamura’s motivations remained murky, but Burnett’s blunder focused attention on media bias. “Why did they care about his race anyway?” one commenter fumed. “Would it matter if he were black, Hispanic, or Asian? No—they only care to mold narratives against white people.” The incident rekindled debates about biased journalism.
Political commentators linked Burnett’s mistake to CNN’s broader anti-conservative agendas. “This isn’t a slip—it’s a pattern,” wrote one right-wing analyst. “The same network that denied Hunter Biden’s laptop and defended Jussie Smollett’s hoax can’t stop concocting race narratives—even when the facts betray them.”
The NFL headquarters’ proximity to the attack site sparking hypocrisy charges. “CNN claims to stand against gun violence but waits for race to fit their storyline before crying ‘lives matter’,” roasted one social media user. The sharper critique targeted the network’s staggering double standards.
For now, Burnett faces internal and public reckoning. While her job remains secure thanks to CNN’s protective liberal bubble, the incident deepens America’s distrust of corporate media. Conservatives argue such episodes prove why awakened citizens increasingly reject mainstream outlets for independent sources. “We’re done with CNN’s lies,” declared one trending hashtag. “Time to retire their crisis actors’ narratives.”
