HOUSTON – Every day we are learning more about the Santa Fe High School shooting, but we’re also seeing new rumors spread on social media.
One of the most viral images shows mugshots of the Santa Fe suspect and a teen named Taymar McIntyre side by side. It outlines each crime the two are accused of and then points out only McIntyre faces the death penalty.
McIntyre, a rapper who also goes by the name Tay-K, was 16 years old when police arrested him for the murder of a man in a home invasion near Dallas, and investigators accused him in another murder while on the following year. The image goes on to claim only McIntyre faces the death penalty and not the school shooting suspect.
Even rapper T.I. shared the photo online, writing “This is America!!!! We MUST START STANDING BY OURS THE SAME WAY THEY STAND BY THEIRS!!!!”
The only problem is the image’s claim is false. McIntyre was a minor in both cases, and the Supreme Court ruled in 2005's Roper v. Simmons that the death penalty for anyone under 18 is unconstitutional.
We can verify the rumor that Taymor McIntyre, 17, is facing the death penalty is false.