Ilhan Omar faces backlash for tweet about Boulder massacre suspect's race

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., faced backlash online Tuesday after claiming that there were different narratives used with mass shooters based on their "race or ethnicity."

In a tweet posted the day after the mass shooting in Boulder, Colo. that left 10 dead, Omar claimed that the "race or ethnicity" of mass shooters appeared to be the main focus of the media when the shooters "aren't white." 

Prominent liberals jumped to conclusions about the race of the Boulder shooter. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, a 21-year-old man of Syrian descent, was charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder.  

She also claimed that narratives around the heinous acts are what "drive" people’s responses "to awful crimes."

"The shooter's race or ethnicity seems front and center when they aren’t white," wrote the Minnesota Democrat. "Otherwise, it’s just a mentally ill young man having a bad day."

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"Narratives drive our responses to awful crimes committed against innocent people, pay attention to these responses and who is targeted," she added.

Omar's tweet sparked a backlash, with critics pointing out that she brought up the race of Atlanta mass shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long, who is White. 

Washington Free Beacon executive editor Brent Scher blasted Omar for her tweet, saying that this "shooter's race and ethnicity was front and center yesterday when we didn't even know what it was and just assumed it was white." 

Mediaite editor Caleb Howe also took aim at Omar’s tweet, saying it was using misinformation to push a "narrative." 

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RedState editor-at-large Kira Davis also weighed in, telling the congresswoman to take her own "advice."

"This literally works both ways, [Omar] so take your own advice. Maybe that's how we find justice instead of hyperventilating to blame each other about everything all the time," wrote Davis. "I invite you - as a leader - to take the first step and then keep walking forward."

Pluribus editor Jeryl Bier said that Omar's tweet "sounds like it comes from an alternate universe." 

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Omar posted a similar tweet last week, after the mass shootings in Atlanta that targeted three massage parlors.

In the tweet, she wrote that it isn’t "hard to understand why it’s so normalized for law enforcement to protect the humanity of white mass murderers and their willingness to continually make excuses [for] them."

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The tragedy in Colorado has led to calls from Democrats for an increase in gun control legislation, and President Joe Biden is considering taking executive action, per White House press secretary Jen Psaki.