Shooting at Oregon elementary school injures several; suspected gunman dead

blasted throughMore neutral: broke through

The verb adds drama to a plain account of the suspect entering the building.

Police say the 16-year-old shooter then blasted through locked doors to get inside the K-5 elementary school in Bend.

Used byCBN News (Far Right)

HeroicMore neutral: armed bystander

Calling the bystander heroic is a judgement that the reported facts do not by themselves establish.

Heroic Armed Bystander Stops Teen Gunman During Deadly Oregon Elementary School Shooting

Used byCBN News (Far Right)

stricken the nationMore neutral: occurred across the country

The verb stricken adds a dramatic, afflicted tone where a plain description of frequency would suffice.

A long string of school shootings have stricken the nation over the last three decades.

Used byThe New York Times (Left)

storming intoMore neutral: entering

Storming adds a sense of force and menace that the reported facts do not require.

Oregon shooter fired shotgun at pickup truck before storming into special education classrooms and opening fire, killing three children and one…

Used byDaily Mail (Right)

questions remainMore neutral: state the question and who is asking

The writer is raising the question while pretending someone else did.

Many questions remain about the motive and how the shooter gained access to the long gun used in the…

Used byNBC News (Left)

guns downMore neutral: shot and killed

Guns down adds a more dramatic image than the plain report that the bystander shot the suspect.

Bystander guns down suspected primary school shooter in Oregon

Used byAl Jazeera English (Left)

police revealedMore neutral: police said

Presents the police statement as a disclosure that was hidden, which adds drama to a routine announcement.

…a shotgun bought by his mother to kill four people, including three children, police revealed.

Used byDaily Mail (Right)

eliminatedMore neutral: killed

Calling the gunman eliminated uses a word that adds judgement beyond the plain fact that he was killed.

Tragically, four innocents were killed before the attacker was eliminated.

Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

crazed teen’s deadly mass shootingMore neutral: teen’s mass shooting

The word crazed attaches a mental-state judgement to the teenage suspect that the reporting does not establish.

…heroic bystander who rushed into an Oregon elementary school to end a crazed teen’s deadly mass shooting is believed to be a student’s dad, according to radio dispatch audio.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

Hero gunmanMore neutral: Bystander who shot suspect

The word hero passes judgement on the bystander, and gunman is a term usually applied to the shooter.

Hero gunman who ran into Oregon elementary school to end teen’s mass shooting was a ‘student’s…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

blasting through the locked doorsMore neutral: firing through the locked doors

The verb blasting suggests force and drama beyond the plain description of entry through locked doors.

The shooter gained access to the school by blasting through the locked doors.

Used byTownhall (Far Right)

rumoredMore neutral: report only what can be confirmed, or name the source of the rumor

Publishes a rumor while disclaiming it.

…children safe from killers like him, before being taken down by a hero bystander rumored to be a student's father.

Used byDaily Mail (Right)

evil teenMore neutral: 16-year-old gunman

Attaches a moral judgement to the 16-year-old suspect in the outlet's own voice.

…the alarm after “being shot at multiple times by a person with a long gun” by the evil teen who then shot up Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, killing three young students…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

HeroMore neutral: Man who confronted

Calling him a hero before the facts of his conduct are set out pre-judges what he did.

Hero who confronted Bend school shooter shares video showing his bullet-riddled truck after…

Used byDaily Mail (Right)

stormedMore neutral: entered

The verb suggests an assault beyond the reported fact that the gunman entered the school.

In just three harrowing minutes, a 16-year-old gunman opened fire in the parking lot, stormed an elementary school and murdered three children and a teacher before a brave…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

murderedMore neutral: killed

The verb adds a legal and moral judgement where the plain word killed reports the same fact.

…16-year-old gunman opened fire in the parking lot, stormed an elementary school and murdered three children and a teacher before a brave bystander shot him dead, according to…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

brave bystanderMore neutral: armed bystander

Calling the bystander brave pre-judges his act before the circumstances are fully reported.

…stormed an elementary school and murdered three children and a teacher before a brave bystander shot him dead, according to police.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

rampageMore neutral: shooting

The word adds a sense of frenzy beyond the reported facts of a shooting.

Timeline of Oregon school shooting reveals how hero gunman ended teen’s rampage in under 3 minutes

Used byNew York Post (Right)

still hasn't read the ConstitutionMore neutral: Rob Bonta's position on the issue

The line dismisses a named official's record with a jibe that asserts nothing checkable about the shooting.

The world is reminded that an El Niño is a real thing and Rob Bonta still hasn't read the Constitution.

Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

ever-more-wokeMore neutral: Bend, Oregon

The word is a political label attached to the city that pre-judges its residents without bearing on the event.

Thank goodness some men and women in the ever-more-woke Bend, Oregon still conceal and carry guns.

Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

who was murderedMore neutral: who was killed

Calls the deaths murders, a legal finding that depends on intent, while the motive has not been reported.

…5, was identified by locals and by his father as being one of the youngsters who was murdered inside Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend on Thursday.

Used byDaily Mail (Right)

heroic bystanderMore neutral: armed bystander

Calling the bystander heroic passes judgement on his act before the facts are established.

…16, critically injured another student and teacher before being shot dead by a heroic bystander believed to be a student’s dad.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

crazed rampageMore neutral: attack at the school

Crazed describes the gunman's state of mind, which the supplied text does not establish, and adds drama.

…Oregon teen who gunned down three elementary school students and a teacher in a crazed rampage before he was shot dead by a courageous bystander has been identified.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

courageous bystanderMore neutral: bystander who shot him

Praising the bystander as courageous judges his act before the facts are established.

…school students and a teacher in a crazed rampage before he was shot dead by a courageous bystander has been identified.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

in rampageMore neutral: in a shooting

Rampage frames the shooting as frenzied before the motive is established.

Oregon elementary school teen gunman who killed 3 students and teacher in rampage ID’d

Used byNew York Post (Right)

hero dadMore neutral: father

Labels the father a hero in the outlet’s own voice, which is praise rather than a plain description of his actions.

A hero dad was driving home for his lunch break when he heard gunshots and ran into an Oregon…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

crazed teen’sMore neutral: teen’s

Describes the gunman’s state of mind, which the coverage does not establish.

…and ran into an Oregon elementary school special education room to stop a crazed teen’s deadly mass shooting, according to a report.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

bravely pursuedMore neutral: pursued

Adds praise to the act in the outlet’s own voice rather than describing what he did.

…Elementary in Bend, Oregon Kaylub Giamanco, 36, who owns a concealed weapon, bravely pursued teen gunman John J.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

hero girl dadMore neutral: father who stopped the shooter

Calls the father a hero in the outlet’s own voice before the facts of his actions are set out.

New details revealed about hero girl dad who stopped Oregon school shooter John J.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

maniac gunmanMore neutral: gunman

“Maniac” is a judgement about the gunman’s state of mind that the report does not establish.

…7-year-old is in critical condition after being shot in the face by a maniac gunman at an Oregon elementary school, according to a report.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

Took OutMore neutral: Shot Dead

“Took out” is slang that gives the killing an action-film tone; the story itself says the shooter was killed.

Local Outlet Identifies Hero Who Took Out Oregon School Shooter

Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

leftistsMore neutral: Democrats

“Leftists” is a group label used in the outlet’s own voice to pre-judge the Democrats who called for gun laws.

As usual, it didn’t take long for leftists to exploit the tragic school shooting in Bend, Oregon, to advocate for infringing on…

Used byTownhall (Far Right)

exploitMore neutral: call for new gun laws after

“Exploit” asserts motive in the outlet’s own voice, when the reported action is calling for new gun laws.

As usual, it didn’t take long for leftists to exploit the tragic school shooting in Bend, Oregon, to advocate for infringing on people’s…

Used byTownhall (Far Right)

crazedMore neutral: teen

Describes the gunman's state of mind as fact without a source for it.

The weeping mother of the crazed teen gunman who carried out a mass shooting at an Oregon elementary school insisted…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

raising questionsMore neutral: state the question and who is asking

The writer is raising the question while pretending someone else did.

…in Bend, Ore., entered an elementary school by shooting through a locked door, raising questions about what more schools can do to protect children.

Used byThe New York Times (Left)

carnageMore neutral: shooting

A dramatic word for the violence that adds emotion beyond the facts reported.

…identity of the 16-year-old gunman, the father who chased him inside and ended the carnage, and a troubling new detail about how the suspect apparently got his hands on the…

Used byRedState (Far Right)

Twisted teen gunmanMore neutral: 16-year-old gunman

Describes the teenager with a moral judgement in the outlet’s own voice rather than with facts.

Twisted teen gunman John J.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

eerie photoMore neutral: photo

Adds a dramatic mood to a photograph without describing its content.

Griffin, 16, is seen in the eerie photo posted on Facebook by his mother, Shauntai May Nickerson, on Sept.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

evil carnageMore neutral: shooting

“Evil” is a moral judgement; the deaths and injuries can be described without it.

The Oregon school shooter went to extreme lengths to carry out his evil carnage and make his way to his target: his former special-needs classroom, law-enforcement…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

gun-toting young madmanMore neutral: 16-year-old gunman

“Madman” labels the gunman before the facts of his state of mind are established.

The gun-toting young madman then tried to enter through the school’s front door but was blocked by two…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

runs into inconvenient factMore neutral: Democrats call for tougher gun laws after Oregon school shooting; gun-rights advocates dispute their effect

Presents the opposing proposal as refuted by a fact, a judgement the reporting does not establish.

Democrats' latest gun-control push runs into inconvenient fact about how school killer was stopped

Used byFox News (Far Right)

Humble FatherMore neutral: Father of 2 Daughters

Adds a character judgement beyond the facts reported.

Armed Hero Who Stopped Oregon School Shooting Identified as Carpenter, Humble Father of 2 Daughters

Used byThe Western Journal (Far Right)

armed to the teethMore neutral: armed with a shotgun

The idiom adds drama to a description of the suspect's weapons that the police account gives in plainer terms.

Hero teacher tackled Oregon school shooter Griffin John – who was armed to the teeth in special ed classroom: police

Used byNew York Post (Right)

heartbreaking statementMore neutral: statement

The adjective is the outlet’s own emotional judgement of the family’s statement, which the sentence does not need.

“To tell you about who Megan was would take 25 years,” her family said in a heartbreaking statement shared during a Friday press conference.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

callously targetedMore neutral: shot

Callously attributes a motive and attitude to the shooter that the excerpt does not establish.

A 7-year-old disabled girl is battling for her life after she was callously targeted by mass shooter Griffin J.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

Oregon school rampageMore neutral: Oregon school shooting

Rampage is a dramatic word; the event is more neutrally described as a shooting.

Disabled girl, 7, battles for her life after Oregon school rampage as loved ones pray for ‘fighter’

Used byNew York Post (Right)

largely leftist stateMore neutral: Oregon

Characterizes Oregon’s politics with a partisan label rather than a verifiable fact.

Sadly, however, we're not learning much from the politicos in that largely leftist state whose default position is to blame the gun and not the malicious and sick…

Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

Anti-GunMore neutral: gun-restriction

Labels politicians by their position on guns, implying hostility to gun owners that the article does not establish.

Anti-Gun Politicos 'Forget' to Praise Hero Dad Who Saved the Day at Oregon School Shooting

Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

ForgetMore neutral: do not mention

Scare quotes suggest the politicians deliberately left out praise, a motive the article does not show.

Anti-Gun Politicos 'Forget' to Praise Hero Dad Who Saved the Day at Oregon School Shooting

Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

Wheelchair-boundMore neutral: Girl who uses a wheelchair

Defines the child by her chair in the headline, which pre-judges her as dependent; the body text states plainly that she uses a wheelchair.

Wheelchair-bound 'courageous' 7-year-old who was shot in the face by Oregon school shooting gunman…

Used byDaily Mail (Right)

stalked gunmanMore neutral: followed gunman

The verb “stalked” implies predatory pursuit, while the reported event was a father following a gunman back into a school.

Hero dad who killed Oregon shooter stalked gunman, army crawled through school window: mom

Used byNew York Post (Right)

crazed teenagerMore neutral: 16-year-old gunman

The word “crazed” asserts the gunman’s mental state without evidence in the coverage.

…because he is wrongly blaming himself for not getting to the shooter before the crazed teenager killed three children and a teacher.

Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

heartbreaking callMore neutral: call

The word “heartbreaking” is the outlet’s own emotional judgement about the call.

Mother of hero who brought down Oregon school shooter reveals heartbreaking call moments later: 'Mom, I couldn't save them all'

Used byDaily Mail (Right)

blastedMore neutral: shot

A violent verb chosen for effect where the plain word shot describes the same act.

…reason, went back to the special ed classroom where he spent time as a student and blasted children and a teacher with a shotgun.

Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

sick personMore neutral: shooter

Labels the shooter as sick before the facts establish his mental state, reducing him to a contemptible category.

…two students, who had no idea if his own babies were alive or dead, followed that sick person into the school and ended him.

Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

ended himMore neutral: killed him

Softens the description of a killing with a figure of speech that hides what happened.

…if his own babies were alive or dead, followed that sick person into the school and ended him.

Used byPJ Media (Far Right)