I can definitely agree with the take that information about these situations is often unreliable while in-progress.

I can think of innocuous reasons why this keeps happening, though. In the panic of a shooting, and with limited information, I can’t really blame officials for putting out anything that might conceivably help people on the ground avoid getting shot.

Maybe shooters being on the roof is over-reported. But if there is any evidence it could be true, warning people to get indoors and out of the open isn’t unwise advice.

In general, I expect officials to err on the side of caution until the shooting actually stops and there is a reasonable belief it won’t be restarted.

So in other words, even though I agree we should be skeptical of any details for a while, I am also think there are reasonable excuses for assuming the worst about lethal situations and making these kinds of mistakes, when they do happen.

I don’t think it necessarily requires malice for this potential error to occur, even if I accept the possibility of malice. So the only word I’m really questioning here, in light of your explanation, is the word “confirms.”

I’d wait a bit before using that word, is all.