A “manifesto” discovered during a search of the shooter’s home suggests a premeditated act that could be linked to a “grudge” against the school.
The images are of rare violence. This Monday, three children and three adults were shot dead at an elementary school in Nashville, in the southern United States, a tragedy the circumstances of which are being uncovered by local authorities.
The former student of The Covenant School, the person who committed the bloodbath, was quickly shot by officers who arrived at the scene and identified as a 28-year-old transgender person named Audrey Hale, but his LinkedIn profile seems to indicate a willingness to use masculine pronouns.
Found several weapons
Nashville police quickly posted video from the school’s security camera on social media showing the shooter arriving at the school gate at 10:10 a.m. There he fires several shots at the glass front door in order to get into the building.
Dressed in a red cap, white T-shirt, military pants, and a black vest that looks like a bulletproof vest, Audrey Hale is seen strolling the school corridors for minutes, looking for possible targets.
He carries two rifles, one in his hand and the second on his back, and another gun was found in his vehicle, which was parked in the school facility parking lot.
Warned at 10:13 a.m. and quickly dispatched to the scene, officers shot him dead immediately and fifteen minutes after the first call for help, he was pronounced dead, according to police spokesman Don Aaron. The police were also attacked by the shooter, as evidenced by the impact of a bullet on a police car.
“Police reacted quickly, officers entered the first floor of the school and began securing it. They heard shots from the second floor,” he said.
Probably premeditated homicide
The still-unknown motive could be linked to a “resentment” against the school, Nashville Police Chief John Drake noted. A “manifesto” discovered during a search of Audrey Hale’s home mentioned other potential targets, he said.
“We found a manifesto and documents we are investigating that relate to this massacre. We also found a plan detailing how it would all play out and are beginning to get clues as to its motivations,” he confirms . .
This document, along with a map “showing access” to the school and other “writings” found in his vehicle appear to indicate that the slaughter was premeditated.
President Joe Biden expressed his dismay at the “heinous” crime and ordered the White House flags to be flown at half-mast.
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).
And for the first time this year, guns became the leading cause of death among young people ages 1 to 19, with 4,368 deaths from car accidents and drug overdoses, according to the CDC.