LGBT

Jordan Cofer
Jordan Cofer, a transgender man, was the first casualty of a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, August 4. The gunman, who died in a shootout with police, was Connor Betts, Cofer's brother. Betts opened fire in a popular Dayton entertainment district, killing nine people. Several media accounts identified Cofer as Betts's sister and deadnamed him, but the website Splinter and the National Center for Transgender Equality said Cofer was a trans man, although not out to his family, so his gender identity was likely not a factor in his death. Cofer had recently been an intern for the U.S. Forest Service in Montana.

"We are deeply saddened to hear of the loss of Jordan as well as eight others in this tragic and violent act," the NCTE's Gillian Branstetter wrote in a statement sent to The Advocate. "Mass gun violence is an epidemic in this country and deserving of swift and immediate action by lawmakers at all levels of government. We join the nation in mourning for every community impacted by gun violence."