CNN received ridicule and criticism on Monday after its reporting that the suspect in a deadly New York shooting was “possibly white” was quickly disproven.
Reporting on the shooting on her show Erin Burnett OutFront, CNN host Erin Burnett asked, “Was his face visible? I mean, do they have any idea at this point who he is?”
CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller replied, “They do not know who he is. They know he is a male, possibly white. He’s wearing sunglasses, he appears to have a mustache, and that picture has been distributed to every police officer in New York City, particularly has been sent to the phones of the search teams inside that building because whenever they encounter a group of people, the first thing they have to figure out is is that individual among these people, hiding among victims or pretending to be an office worker.”
Burnett then repeated Miller’s claim that the suspect was “male, possibly white.”
When Miller made his statement, a photo from a surveillance video was already circulating on social media, showing that the suspect was very clearly not white.
An hour later, the suspect was identified by the New York Post as 27-year-old Shane Tamura.
“CAN’T MAKE IT UP: CNN says this shooter is ‘possibly white’,” reacted The Blaze.
🚨 BREAKING: The NYC shooting suspect has just been identified as Shane D. Tamura, reportedly from Las Vegas.
CNN said he was “probably white.” That aged horribly. pic.twitter.com/97h2qK6Lni
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 29, 2025
“When a criminal suspect is black or brown, why does the mainstream media either refuse to report their ethnicity or wrongly report they’re ‘possibly white?’” questioned Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. “Gee, it’s almost like they have an agenda.”
When a criminal suspect is black or brown, why does the mainstream media either refuse to report their ethnicity or wrongly report they’re “possibly white?”
🤔@CNN
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 29, 2025
Law Enforcement: Here’s multiple pictures of the not white suspect.
CNN: “They know he is, a male, possibly white. He’s wearing sunglasses.”
Gee, it’s almost like they have an agenda. pic.twitter.com/Dx6Xii2FRJ
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 29, 2025
The New York Post identified Tamura as the suspect in the shooting at 345 Park Avenue, Manhattan on Monday.
Following the incident, Tamura was allegedly found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was found to be in possession of a Las Vegas Concealed Firearms Permit.
Watch above via CNN.
