REVEALED: The Nashville gunman had ‘private consultations’ with the school’s principal before the massacre, during which she shot his 9-year-old daughter ‘because HE wasn’t there’.
- Audrey Hale opened fire on the private Christian Covenant School on Monday, killing six people
- She shot and killed Hallie Scruggs, 9, along with two other children during the killing spree
- An ex-pastor claims Hale may be after her father, Pastor Chad Scruggs, after she disagreed with him in a meeting
A former Covenant minister claims that trans shooter Audrey Hale received counseling sessions with her victim’s father.
Hale, 28, opened fire at the Nashville private school on Monday, killing three children and three school staff.
The school’s ex-pastor, Jim Bachmann, has now claimed that she received private sessions from the school’s current pastor – Chad Scruggs.
His daughter Hallie, 9, was one of the children gunned down in the brutal attack, with police still saying they have no official motive for the incident.
Bachmann told InsideEdition that Pastor Scruggs advised her, adding that he “apparently searched the school for him.”
Hallie Scruggs, 9, was killed in the shooting and is pictured with her father, a church pastor, Chad Scruggs
Ex-pastor at the school Jim Bachmann has now claimed that Hale (pictured) was roaming the corridors looking for Pastor Scrugg
However, he was not on site at the time, and Bachmann speculated that Hale “would have left his daughter alone” if she could have found Scruggs.
Bachmann said: “I hear he was counseling her and something was wrong with her and that’s why she targeted his daughter and maybe his two sons who go to a different private school.
“If she found Chad and tried to kill him, she might have left his daughter alone, I don’t know.
“She was just a normal, happy little girl who loved to play kickball with the boys, and her parents were wonderful people.”
Pastor Scruggs and his wife also share three sons older than Hallie, at least one of whom previously joined the Covenant.
For little Hallie and the other two children killed in the shooting – William Kinney and Evelyn Dieckhaus, both 9.
Headmistress Dr. Katherine Koonce, 60, substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, and chef Mike Hill, 61, were also killed in the mass shooting.
Hale used the names Audrey and Aiden, but according to a LinkedIn page, her preferred pronouns were he/he.
Hallie Scruggs is seen with her father, Chad Scruggs, pastor of the school’s affiliated Presbyterian Church, her mother and three older brothers
Police confirmed Tuesday that she previously attended the school in Nashville, Tennessee, but her motive for the shooting was unclear.
Police Chief John Drake added that Hale was suffering from an “emotional disorder” at the time of the shooting.