Twitter users have falsely claimed a photograph shows a hospital room used to care for a victim of the recent shooting in Nashville

By: Sam Doak
March 31 2023

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Context

Following the recent mass shooting in Nashville in March 2023, a range of false and misleading images have circulated. One of these concerns the effects of the weapon used by the alleged perpetrator. 

Shortly after the tragedy, a user posted a graphic image showing an emergency room on Twitter. The photograph shows a hospital bed next to a large pool of blood in a room that is in a state of disarray. This was accompanied by the caption, "Graphic image warning. This is an emergency room in Nashville. This is the damage an AR-15 does to a human body (in this case a child). @PierrePoilievre @RaquelDancho @DougShipleyBSOM want to legalize this weapon."

From the available context, it is clear that this photo was framed as showing the aftermath of an attempt to provide medical treatment to a victim of the recent shooting in Nashville, but it was actually first uploaded in 2019.

In Fact 

This photograph does not show a hospital in which any victim of the recent shooting was treated. Through a reverse image search, it is possible to determine that it was first uploaded in 2019 by a Facebook page called "Accident and Emergency Department, PIMS Islamabad."

While it was not possible to verify whether the photograph in question was taken in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences facilities in Islamabad, the context in which it was uploaded is clear. 

While this image is graphic, it was uploaded to warn people not to attend A&E unless they are experiencing severe medical issues. The caption with which it was initially uploaded reads, "THIS is why you wait in the emergency room when you go without an emergency. THIS is why you had to wait for your water to be refilled. THIS is why you had to wait for your discharge papers, meds, blanket, any other material object. THIS is the room you DON'T want to be in, and the room you need to be praying for, and hard. THIS is what it takes to save a life, which is what you come to us for." 

There is no evidence that the photograph in question shows the aftermath of medical treatment administered to a person shot by a person using an AR-15, as claimed. 

The Verdict 

This image was not taken in Nashville following the recent mass shooting. It was first uploaded by a Facebook account affiliated with the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in 2019. This claim has therefore been marked as false.