“Sahil Omar”
is 44 years old, an illegal immigrant and has a Muslim-sounding name: this man who has been attributed to a whole series of crimes in the United States, including the last one in Kansas City, does not actually exist probably not.
After the shootings that occurred Wednesday in Kansas City during the parade of the local American football team celebrating its victory in the Super Bowl, which left one dead and 22 injured, many Internet users identified the shooter on X (formerly Twitter). as being a man called
“Omar”
.
“At least one of the shooters in the Kansas City Chiefs parade has been identified as Sahil Omar, a 44-year-old illegal immigrant
,” we can read on this social network, without any supporting evidence.
President Joe Biden
“failed to protect America from invasion and terrorism
,” the message also reads.
Disinformation campaign
The rumor was started a few hours after the shooting.
On Thursday, while the authorities clarified that a personal altercation and not a terrorist act was at the origin of the shootings, the name
“Sahil Omar”
was in vogue on X. However, this is not the first time that this name is mentioned following a tragedy.
Last month, Internet users accused this same
“Sahil Omar”
on social networks of being at the origin of an explosion in a hotel in Texas, or of another explosion at Niagara Falls that occurred in november.
But this name was not found in any official register by AFP journalists.
And authorities have not identified any suspects in the Texas explosion, concluding it was a gas leak.
This disinformation campaign appears to aim to establish a link between illegal immigration and crime.
The hate messages posted against this so-called
“Omar”
were often accompanied by criticism of the Democratic administration of Joe Biden and its management of illegal immigration at the United States border with the Mexico.
The politically hot topic is a major theme of the electoral campaign in view of the presidential election in November.