A Rhode Island state legislator is receiving sharp criticism for his response to a recent mass shooting in his state.

State Rep. Enrique Sanchez (D-Providence) got that criticism for his response to a February 16 Pawtucket mass shooting that left three dead, including the suspect, and three injured; the shooting took place during a boys' high school hockey game between the Coventry/Johnston co-op and the Blackstone Valley co-op at Dennis M. Lynch Arena.

The shooter was a male who identified as transgender named Roberta Esposito; his real name is Robert Dorgan. The shooting was an act of domestic violence. The suspect killed his ex-wife and son before taking his own life. It followed a disturbing pattern where the majority of mass shootings in the United States involve domestic violence, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.

Since the shooter, who had a history of racist, antisemitic, and violent social media activity, identified as transgender, Sanchez took to social media to defend the killer's identity.

"What happened yesterday in Pawtucket Rhode Island shouldn’t be an excuse for people to be transphobic or homophobic," Sanchez posted on X. "Rest in peace to the victims and my deepest condolences to their families."

Many users disliked this post.

Sanchez got ratioed — meaning his post received far more replies than likes, and some of those replies drew more likes than the original message.

The top reply was a comment from a user who posted a screenshot of a December 2016 tweet from the late comedian Norm Macdonald.

The original post read, "What terrifies me is if ISIS were to detonate a nuclear device and kill 50 million Americans. Imagine the backlash against peaceful Muslims?"

Another X user replied, "As a homosexual man myself…. Shut the (expletive) up. How dare you even put those in the same sentence."

Meanwhile, a man named Joseph Jones responded with, "Why would anybody be homophobic? The killer was a straight man, this has nothing whatsoever to do with gay men and lesbians."

Additionally, someone else wrote, "I didn't think that was the worst part. I thought the worst part was the murdering."

Also, one response said, "You should be ashamed. He wasn’t homosexual he was very much straight. He wasn’t a woman. You are a spineless coward."

Plus, one post read, "What happened in Pawtucket Rhode Island or Tumbler Ridge or Annunciation Catholic Church or Nashville or Lakewood Church or Colorado Springs or Denver or Aberdeen or Iowa or to Charlie Kirk or to Donald Trump shouldn’t be an excuse for people to be transphobic or homophobic."

And a woman named Jody Baldwin Stone replied, "Grow up and educate yourself. A diagnosis for gender dysphoria is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The DSM-5 is published by the American Psychiatric Association. This has always been. Citing this fact does not make one transphobic."

Sanchez could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday morning.