Man Claims He's Been Falsely Identified As Nashville Shooter

A man wrongly identified as the Nashville shooter has urged people to report a photo of him that was shared on social media following the tragedy.

The 19-year-old Pennsylvania-based artist AidenCreates announced on his social media pages that a photo of him had been used to falsely claim he was Audrey Hale.

Hale, who killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday used he/ his pronouns and the name Aiden on social media. The shooter, who police said identified as transgender, also had an art profile that was featured on Instagram with the name Aiden.

In a video, the artist said: "This picture is being shown all over Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and that is me. And, apparently, I'm being confused with the Nashville incident that happened today."

"I have nothing to do with that, I live in Pennsylvania. So, please, if you see any of these posts anywhere that have my photo in it, report it. Thank you."

Since the artist shared the video, it has been seen more than 2.2 million times on his TikTok page. Many of those who commented on the post were sympathetic to the artist's situation.

On his Instagram page, AidenCreates stated: "Please note: I am not connected to the shooter in another state with a similar name."

Incorrect information, whether intentional or not, typically emerges in the aftermath of high-profile mass shootings in the U.S.

Following Monday's fatal shooting, fake photos of Audrey Hale spread like wildfire.

In one image, a person is seen holding up a placard that read "trans rights…or else," which also featured five different guns. The account that posted the image later said that it was not of Hale.

Several other social media users identified the shooter as comedian Sam Hyde, whose image is regularly shared as part of a dark joke in the aftermath of mass shootings.

Among those who were killed at The Covenant School, three were children and the other three were staff members.

The children were identified as William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs, and Evelyn Dieckhaus, all aged nine, while the adults were named as Cynthia Peak, 61, Mike Hill, 61, and Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school.

Hale, who legally purchased the weapons used in the shooting, managed to gain entry to the school by firing the glass out of a double entrance door.

Newsweek has contacted AidenCreates, Meta, and Twitter for comment.