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Nashville – On Monday morning, a 28-year-old shooter opened fire on a private Christian school in Nashville, resulting in damage.
Six individuals were slain by the shooter, including three 9-year-old children and three adults.
Officials suspect they navigated the school using a map, leaving some documents behind and looking into a possible second attack location.
The shooter
Audrey Hale was identified as the shooter by authorities.
Hale, a former Covenant School student, is accused of plotting a school attack.
At a news conference, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said that the suspect was armed with three firearms when they entered the school through a side entry.
Police called Hale “the female shooter,” and it was subsequently disclosed during a press conference that she was transgender.
According to a representative, Hale used male pronouns on digital platforms.
The shooting
According to authorities, the school shooting lasted 14 minutes.
At 10:13 a.m., the first report of gunfire was received.
According to police spokesperson Don Aaron, Audrey Hale died at 10:27 a.m.
He emphasized that no school resource officer was assigned to monitor the private school because it was administered by the church.
According to officials, Hale sparked the fire on the first and second floors of the school.
Five cops on the scene rushed upstairs to investigate when they heard gunfire.
According to Aaron, they managed to track down Audrey Hale and gunned her down.
Investigations
After the event, authorities took Hale’s things, which included precise school maps detailing auditing and entry points.
“We had some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this day, the actual incident,” said Drake.
“We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.”
According to investigators, Hale considered targeting another facility but decided against it after conducting a “threat assessment” due to the site’s high security.
Drake also revealed that the show would have taken place in Nashville.
Authorities believe Hale legally acquired two of the three firearms: an AR-style rifle, an AR-style pistol, and a handgun.
According to Drake, authorities are still investigating a motive, searching the shooter’s home, and interrogating the suspect’s father.
According to the president of Nashville’s Nossi College of Art & Design, Hale will graduate in 2022.
Hale was a freelance graphic designer and a part-time grocery shopper, according to his LinkedIn profile.
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The victims
On Monday afternoon, Nashville police identified Evelyn Dieckhau, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all nine years old.
Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61, worked at the facility.
According to the school’s website, Koonce was the head of Covenant and attended Vanderbilt University, Trevecca Nazarene University, and Georgia State University.
According to Don Aaron, Hill was a Covenant caregiver and substitute teacher at the time of the shooting.
The school shooting in Nashville was the worst since a 2022 attack in Uvalde, Texas, which slaughtered 21 people.
The Covenant School, founded in 2001 as a part of Covenant Presbyterian Church, is a private Christian school for children in preschool to the sixth grade.
Families’ concerns
To respond to the tragic assault, a large police and fire force was dispatched.
As they neared the school, they joined the family who had gathered outside to await the return of their loved ones.
Avery Myrick, whose mother works at the school, claimed her mother texted her that she was hiding in a closet.
Across school grounds, she could hear gunshots.
Fortunately, Myrick’s mother was safe.
“Just getting that initial phone call that was OK, it obviously brings a ton of relief, but you’re still hurting for the people out there who may not get that call,” she said.
Meanwhile, Shearwater Health employee Jozen Reodica recorded police moving students out of the school on Monday.
The children marched down the street in a line, holding hands.
When Reodica spotted police cars at the school across the street from where she works, she grew concerned.
“They (the police) started to close down the road,” she said. “It happened so fast.”
“I saw a policeman run to the scene and then after a few minutes kids were already crossing.”
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s director, David Rausch, indicated that the bureau was assisting the Metro Nashville Police Department with the investigation.
He then advised that they conduct their own investigation into the officer-involved shooting.
Police are reviewing the video from the school shooting.
Congress urged to do something
During a news conference, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation, calling the shooting “sick” and “heartbreaking.”
He also asked Congress to make gun safety measures happen soon.
“We have to do more to stop gun violence,” said Biden.
“It’s ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation, ripping at the very soul of the nation.”
“And we have to do more to protect our schools, so they aren’t turned into prisons.”
In the meanwhile, Mayor Jon Cooper has arranged a candlelight vigil for the fallen for early Wednesday evening.
One Public Square Park will be the venue for the event.
“It is important that we stand together on this dark day for Nashville,” he tweeted.
Nashville has also established a fund to assist the victims of the disaster.
