I was just about to comment on the same thing! Seems to me that “tragic” is the buzzword du jour to try and shield the journalist and/or paper from attacks of racism. Because, dontcha know, the only possible responses are “that’s tragic” or “that colored boy had it coming.”
/s
So, if I were to say, “That murderer needs to be tried, convicted, and executed post haste,” that would be racist?
Screw it. I’m tired of this crap. However, I think the poster above was correct in suspecting that all this might be designed to provoke a response.