The mother of the transgender school shooter who murdered six people, including three nine-year-olds, at a Nashville private school on Monday said “I think I just lost my daughter” – as her own calls for increased gun control emerged.
Norma Hale spoke to ABC News shortly after her daughter Audrey Hale, 28, was named as the shooter.
She said: “It’s very, very difficult right now. I think I lost my daughter today.’ Norma then asked for privacy while her family grapples with the magnitude of her late daughter’s actions.
Audrey was born a woman and is said to have lived as a man named Aiden. But Nashville officials continue to refer to the killer with feminine pronouns.
In the wake of Audrey’s massacre, Norma’s own posts have surfaced, denouncing school shootings and calling for increased gun control.
On February 21, 2018, in response to the horrors at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, she posted a petition on her page to make large-capacity gun magazines illegal.
Normal Hale (pictured center), the mother of Audrey Hale (pictured right), the transgender gunman who killed six people, including three nine-year-old children and three staff members, was herself a gun control advocate on social media
And on March 8, 2018, she posted a petition to keep guns out of schools, with the caption, “So important!”
Her other posts are typical of a mother who is proud of her family, including a celebration of her wedding anniversary and one appreciating her daughter’s artistic talent.
Norma and her husband Ronald were described by a neighbor as “very nice” and “very religious”.
They are also parents to son Scott, a law student living in Brooklyn. He is yet to comment on what his sister did on Monday morning.
At approximately 10:13 a.m., Hale opened fire on the Covenant School, shooting and killing Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all nine years old.
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.
She was dead within 14 minutes when Nashville police unveiled photos of the two officers – Rex Engelbart and Michael Collazo – who shot Hale.
Chilling security camera footage from inside the school shows Hale’s Honda Fit arriving outside before bursting through a locked door, shooting at it, then coming in and stalking the hallways while aiming her rifle.
In a statement released late Monday night, a spokesman for the school said: “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.’
A photo of Audrey Hale at Covenant School during filming. After the massacre, people discovered that Norma Hale had posted posts on Facebook calling for gun control and denouncing the very mass violence her daughter committed Monday
This is the moment the school’s doors shattered as Audrey Hale burst through them with one of the three guns she had brought with her, killing six people
Hale was filmed sneaking through a tiled area shortly after entering the school. She was shot dead by two police officers 14 minutes after breaking into the school after they fired on her from an adjacent church
A spokesman for the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department announced Monday night that officers Rex Engelbart (pictured, left) and Michael Collazo (pictured, right) were the members of the team who shot and eventually killed Hale
Hale and her family have been described as “very kind” and “very religious.” She is pictured here with Audrey and her brother Scott
Night falls on Brightwood Avenue in Nashville, where the Hale family lives
Hallie Scruggs is seen with her father, Chad Scruggs, the pastor of the school’s affiliated Presbyterian Church
Katherine Koonce, headmistress (left), and Mike Hill, a janitor (right), were among those shot by Audrey Hale
Substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, known as Cindy (right), is shown with her daughter Ellie. Peak was one of six people shot dead in Nashville on Monday
Audrey Hale, 28, opened fire at a Nashville school Monday, killing six
Hale’s LinkedIn profile suggested they were now living as a man
Audrey Hale, 28, is transgender and a graduate of the school, which wrote its plans in a detailed manifesto.
Police shared a picture of the Honda Fit she was driving to Covenant School and announced that they had found “additional material” written by Hale from the manifest she left.
They also posted photos of the school’s doors, which Hale shot out to gain entry. Police confirmed the glass doors were locked when Hale arrived.
The small school is run by a church and does not employ a school resource officer.
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.
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 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
The front entrance of the Covenant School shows the glass doors clearly decimated by bullets
Katherine Koonce, Headmistress, worked with her daughter at Covenant School. Anna Koonce (pictured), who survived the shooting, serves as a faculty/student assistant
‘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.
The shooter left a manifesto, said the chief, which Drake believes will give them a motive for the massacre
Covenant School students disembark the bus Monday to meet their parents at the reunion site at Woodmont Baptist Church
Metro Nashville Police Department and officers on site in front of Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sandy Durham, a neighbor of Hale’s who said she’s known her “since she was a baby,” was shocked and said there were no warning signs this could happen.
‘Never. She was very cute. I do not know what happened. It’s very scary,” Durham told The Daily Beast.
Sean Brashears, a neighbor next door, said he used to play basketball with Hale in his driveway and said she was a “normal, nice person.” Maybe a little quieter.’
“If I had to think about it, Audrey’s parents are probably just as shocked as everyone in the neighborhood… It just doesn’t seem real,” he told The Daily Beast.
He added that knowing the Hale family, it doesn’t appear that Audrey was ever influenced by gun culture.
“There is nothing that would lead me to believe that she was capable of anything like that or that she or anyone in this family would have access to, let alone ever used, a gun.”
“They just don’t seem like the gun-centric family. They don’t talk about going to a shooting range or they don’t go hunting.’
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
Terrified children peek out the windows of their school bus as they wait for a ride away from school after the shooting
Children at Covenant School ran past an ambulance on Monday after a gunman opened fire, killing three staff and three students before they were shot dead by police
A father carries his son out of Nashville’s Covenant School after a gunman killed three students and two staff before he was shot dead
Aerial view of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Nashville Monday after the shooting
A man laying flowers as a memorial at the entrance of the Covenant Presbyterian Church
Just before 10:13 a.m., Hale entered the school through the shattered side door and opened fire on the second floor.
The police arrived at the scene and heard the shots from the 2nd floor.
At 10:27 a.m., Hale had been shot. She was armed with two assault rifles and a pistol.
“I know this is probably the worst day of everyone’s life.
“I can’t tell you how personable we are,” a subway cop was heard telling the parents as they waited for news at a nearby church.
Hale’s home is pictured. Sandy Durham, a neighbor of Hale’s who said she’s known her “since she was a baby,” was shocked and said there were no warning signs this could happen
Sean Brashears, a neighbor next door, said he used to play basketball with Hale in his driveway and said she was a “normal, nice person.” Maybe a little quieter.’
Parents pick up their children from Covenant School in Nashville on Monday
A family prays together after being reunited outside Covenant School in Nashville
Parents gathered at the sanctuary and awaited news as to whether or not their children were among the injured
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.