Police revealed Tuesday that the perpetrator of a massacre at a Nashville Christian school had seven firearms and was being prosecuted for psychiatric problems, a cocktail at the heart of many tragedies across the United States.
“Audrey Hale had legally purchased seven firearms from five local gun stores,” local police chief John Drake said at a news conference. Three pieces of his arsenal — two assault rifles and a pistol — were used Monday morning to sow death at Covenant School, a small prep school south of the Tennessee capital.
Still no cell phone
Audrey Hale, who was raised in this facility as a child, was shot dead by police after killing three 9-year-old students and three school staff, including the principal. After describing him as a young woman, law enforcement clarified that he was a 28-year-old transgender person who used male pronouns to describe herself online. The shooter was “under medical treatment for mental problems” but was completely unknown to the police, said John Drake, without giving any further details. “We still don’t have a motive,” he said.
He had mentioned the day before a “targeted” attack on the “Covenant School”, detailed plans of which were found in the attacker’s home, and a possible “resentment” against this school, which defends traditional religious values.
John Drake had also acknowledged “the existence of a theory” about the attacker’s gender identity. “We are following any leads and will update you if we are firm,” he added.
“No More Damage”
Clarifications may come from writings left by Audrey Hale. During a search of his home, police found a document they described as a “manifesto”. Shortly before the action, the young shooter also sent a message to an acquaintance to tell him that “something bad” was about to happen. “One day it will be clearer,” Audrey Hale wrote, according to local broadcaster WTVF. “I left enough evidence.”
His interlocutor, Averianna Patton, had contacted the police at 10:13 (15:13 GMT) but was not contacted again until after the tragedy. At almost the same time, Audrey Hale broke into her old school by shooting through a glass door. CCTV footage released by police shows a heavily armed figure with a red scarf over his head moving through the building.
Police this Tuesday released video of the intervention that put an end to the slaughter. Filmed by two agents’ pedestrian cameras, the footage shows police advancing down corridors adorned with children’s drawings and firing multiple times at Audrey Hale, who collapses. He was pronounced dead at 10:27 a.m. According to police, he had a large stash of ammunition and was “ready to do more damage.”
” Broken heart “
In Nashville, the population was in shock. “We heard about the shooting, but it’s different when it’s on your doorstep,” Stacie Wilford, a nurse who prayed at an improvised altar commemorating the victims on Monday night, told AFP. “We are heartbroken,” said the family of a young victim, Evelyn Dieckhaus, in a statement they dubbed a “ray of sunshine.”
The political class shared these emotions, but was again divided on the role of firearms: Democratic President Joe Biden renewed his call for a ban on assault rifles, an option vigorously opposed by elected Republicans.
About 400 million firearms are in circulation in the United States, where they caused more than 45,000 deaths by suicide, accident or homicide in 2020, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).
For the first time this year, guns became the leading cause of death among young people under 19, with 4,368 deaths from car accidents and drug overdoses, according to the CDC. Despite this, a majority of Americans remain very attached to carrying guns in the name of the right to self-defense, and several voices have been expressed regretting the lack of armed staff at the school.