According to the authorities, a shooting at a private religious school in Nashville claimed the lives of three children and three adults.
Two officers shot and killed the shooter, who police described as a white 28-year-old from the Nashville area. Police initially thought the shooter was a woman, but a spokesperson later claimed that he was given the gender of a woman at birth and used the pronouns he/him.
The incident happened at The Covenant School. According to Nashville police spokesperson Don Aaron, the three children who died were students, and the three adults who died were staff members.
At 10:13 a.m., the first call came in. As she moved from the first floor to the second floor while firing multiple shots, the shooter “entered the school through a side entrance,” according to Aaron.
Nashville police posted photos of the scene on Monday evening. According to police, the shooter entered the building by breaking the glass in a door. Once on the second floor, the shooter fired from a window at approaching police vehicles.
The shooter was armed with two assault-style rifles and one pistol, according to authorities, and the shooting occurred in a “lobby-type area” in an upper part of the school. The shooter was dead by 10:27 a.m., according to Aaron. According to police, two of the guns were legally obtained.
Police said the shooter was a former student but did not elaborate on a possible motive. Audrey Hale of Nashville was identified as the shooter by police on Monday afternoon. Hale had no prior criminal record.
According to Nashville Police Chief John Drake, Hale had multiple rounds of ammunition and was “prepared for a confrontation with law enforcement.” He claimed the shooter had drawn maps of the school and its entrances.
Drake stated that the parents of the children killed had been notified. “Watching this and the kids being escorted out of the building literally moved me to tears,” he previously stated.
The emergency rooms of Vanderbilt University Medical Center received at least five of the victims. A hospital spokesperson confirmed to NPR that three children and two adults admitted to the hospital had died.
Aaron stated that he was not aware of any other victims of the shooting. He stated that a responding officer had a cut glass wound.
Nearby, a reunification centre for parents and students was established, with mental health specialists on hand.
The Covenant School, according to its website, is a private school affiliated with the Covenant Presbyterian Church that serves students in preschool through sixth grade. According to Aaron, the school has about 209 students and 42 staff members on a typical day.
Nashville, according to Mayor John Cooper, has joined the “dreaded, long list” of cities and towns that have experienced school shootings.
Cooper expressed his sympathy to the families of the victims. “Our entire city is behind you.”
State Rep. Bob Freeman of Tennessee, whose district includes the school, said it was “An unfathomable tragedy for the victims, their families, teachers, staff, and my entire community. I live right around the corner from Covenant and walk by it frequently. There are people I know who go to both church and school there. I’ve also been to the church before. It breaks my heart to see this “WPLN reported on the situation.
Nashville, according to Mayor John Cooper, has joined the “dreaded, long list” of cities and towns that have experienced school shootings.
The families of the victims are in my thoughts and prayers, Cooper said. “Our entire city is behind you.”
State Rep. Bob Freeman of Tennessee, whose district includes the school, said it was “An unfathomable tragedy for the victims, their families, teachers, staff, and my entire community. I live right around the corner from Covenant and walk by it frequently. There are people I know who go to both church and school there. I’ve also been to the church before. It breaks my heart to see this “WPLN reported on the situation.
The Nashville shooting was described as “a family’s worst nightmare” by President Biden, who also called it “sick” and “heartbreaking.”
There have been 130 mass shootings in the United States this year, according to the national Gun Violence Archive website.
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