Nashville police have shared photos of the three guns used by the trans school shooter who killed six Monday, including three nine-year-old children and three staff members.
Audrey Hale, 28, is a transgender woman and a graduate of the school who wrote her plans in a detailed manifesto.
Police shared images of three guns Hale was carrying when she shot herself into the Covenant Church/School building.
The weapons are believed to be two assault rifles and a 9mm pistol. Officials said Monday that two of the three guns used in the shooting were legally purchased.
She also carried a significant amount of ammunition.
One of the rifles had the word “HELL” daubed on it, while the gun’s new male name, Aiden, was engraved on the pistol.
Late Monday night, the Nashville Metro Police Department confirmed that a search of Hale’s home revealed that Metro had found two other firearms, a shotgun and a sawed-off shotgun, also in the apartment.
Nashville police have released photos of the three guns used in the shooting, including two assault rifles
The second of two rifles used in the shooting was pictured by the Nashville Police Department
In the Monday killings, the shooter also carried a 9mm pistol
When Hale pulled up in front of the school in her Honda Fit, the glass doors were locked. Hale shot in and fired at the doors to get onto the compound.
According to Nashville Police Chief John Drake, Hale also allegedly planned an attack on another school but decided not to attack there because he believed there was too much security.
At around 10:13 a.m., she opened fire on the Covenant School, shooting dead nine-year-old Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney.
Also killed were substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, principal Katherine Koonce, 60, and janitor Mike Hill, 61.
Koonce worked with her daughter at Covenant School. Anna Koonce works as a faculty/student assistant.
Cops said Hale was transgender, although they didn’t provide any further details. She was born a female, but a LinkedIn profile believed to be hers uses he/him pronouns, suggesting Hale lived as a male.
It’s unclear what Hale’s motive was, but police believe she attended school at some point.
The school released a statement late Monday night.
“Our community is heartbroken. We mourn a tremendous loss and are shocked by the terror that has destroyed our school and church. We are focused on loving our students, our families, our faculty and staff and beginning the healing process.’
The shooter left a manifesto, the chief said, which Drake believes will give them a motive for the massacre, which will be the 129th in the United States in 2023.
She had detailed, drawn maps of the school and, according to police, had been monitoring it.
Nashville Police Department shared a photo of the car of Audrey Hale, the private school gunman who killed six, including three nine-year-old children and three staff members
They also posted photos of the school’s doors, which Hale shot out to gain entry
Audrey Hale (pictured), the Nashville private school shooter who killed six, including three nine-year-old children and three staff members, is a transgender woman and a graduate of the school, who wrote her plans in a detailed manifesto
The front entrance of the Covenant School shows the glass doors clearly decimated by bullets
‘We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we go through that relate to that day,’ said Drake. “We drew a map of how it should all play out. There is a theory at the moment that we may publish later, but it is unconfirmed. We will publish this as soon as possible.’
When asked if identifying Hale might influence the motive, Drake paused before saying, “We’ll have that to share with you at a later date. There’s a theory, we’re investigating all the leads.’
According to the boss, Hale and no criminal record and said he has no history of mental illness, although investigators are still looking into this.
Drake also said Hale had plans to attack another school in the Nashville area.
“There was another location that was mentioned but based on a threat assessment by the suspect, too much security, they decided against it,” he said.
Terrified children peek out the windows of their school bus as they wait for a ride away from school after the shooting
Children hold hands as they exit Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday after a gunman opened fire, killing three children and three staff members
The Nashville shooting is the 129th mass shooting this year.
The country passed the milestone of 100 mass shootings on March 5 — at a faster rate than in the past decade.
Last year, the US saw 100 mass shootings on March 19, almost two weeks after this year’s date.
The previous year, 2021, was March 20, while 2020 was May 3, and 2018 and 2019 also saw late-May dates for the somber sign.
So far this year there have been 13 school shootings, killing a total of six children and killing four adults or employees.
Nashville is the deadliest school shooting of 2023 and one of only five in history to have had a female shooter.
How the Nashville school shooting unfolded
9:53 a.m. – Hale’s gray Honda Fit arrives at the Covenant School in Nashville.
09:54 – Hale drives through the parking lot seemingly calmly. Nothing to suggest anything is out of the ordinary when she finds a parking space.
10:10 am – The glass door that was locked is shattered as Hale opens fire. She then steps through the rubble into the empty reception area of the church that adjoins the school.
10:13 am – Hale, brandishing her assault rifle, is seen entering a carpeted room in the church and looking for victims. The room is empty. The first call to 911 about a gunshot in the building came in around this time.
10:18 am – Hale can be seen on the same camera at the church still searching for victims. She opens a door into the next room.
10:19 a.m. – The 28-year-old returns through the door and aims her gun, although no one is there. She tries another door and returns 30 seconds later.
10:20 am – Hale now walks past an empty reception desk through a wooden floored building labeled “First” in the footage. She strolls down the corridor and then disappears from view.
10:27 am – Hale is shot dead on the second floor of the school after hiring officers who fired back and killed her.