How many mass shootings in the US were perpetrated by individuals with a known LGBTQ+ identity?

1. Summary of the results

Counting confirmed cases of mass shooters who were publicly identified as transgender or nonbinary yields very small numbers and divergent tallies depending on methodology. The Gun Violence Archive is cited as finding five confirmed incidents since January 2013 ^[1], while another summary using similar datasets reports seven incidents in the last couple of years (about 0.17% of totals for that window) ^[2]. Several reporting outlets and advocacy fact sheets emphasize that these instances represent a vanishingly small share of mass shootings and that there is no evidence that transgender people are more likely to commit mass shootings; some analyses place recent transgender-identified perpetrators at under 0.1% of suspects over a decade ^{[3] [4] [5]}. Individual cases such as the Minneapolis incident identified as involving a transgender woman are documented but not indicative of wider statistical trends ^[6].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Key omissions in summaries that single out LGBTQ+ identity include definitional, evidentiary, and comparative context. “Mass shooting” definitions vary across datasets, which affects counts: some trackers use four victims injured or killed, others use different thresholds, altering totals and the share attributed to any subgroup ^[7]. Public identification of a shooter’s sexual orientation or gender identity is often incomplete or contested; media reports and official records may not or cannot record LGBTQ+ status consistently, producing potential under- or over-counting ^{[2] [4]}. Independent researchers note most mass shooters are cisgender men and stress that transgender people are statistically more often victims of violence than perpetrators, with organizations tracking anti-LGBTQ incidents documenting thousands of targeted attacks and harassment ^{[2] [5]}. Political and media angles that emphasize identity risk obscuring these methodological caveats ^[3].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

Framing that asks “How many mass shootings were perpetrated by individuals with a known LGBTQ+ identity?” can be weaponized to suggest a causal link between LGBTQ+ identity and mass violence; this benefits actors seeking to stigmatize or restrict the rights of transgender and queer people. The Trump administration’s rhetoric about “trans mass shooters” and conservative backlash narratives are documented as catalyzing anti-trans hostility and surveillance proposals, illustrating how selective presentation of rare cases can serve political aims ^{[8] [3]}. Conversely, activist and civil-rights groups emphasize the danger of such framing, pointing to both the tiny statistical share of incidents involving transgender-identified perpetrators and the large number of hate incidents against LGBTQ+ people tracked in recent years ^{[1] [5]}. Given inconsistent data collection, incomplete identification, and competing agendas, claims that conflate individual crimes with group propensity are misleading without robust, transparent sourcing and clear methodological notes ^{[7] [2]}.