Credit, HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS/EPAEFE/REX/Shutterstock
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The attack took place at Covenant School, a private Christian school for students aged three to eleven
March 27, 2023
At least three children and three adults have been killed in a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.
The attack took place at Covenant School, a private Christian school for students aged three to eleven.
The dead students, ages eight and nine, have been identified by police as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney.
Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61, were also killed in the attack, police added.
Audrey Hale, 28, has been identified as the perpetrator of the attack.
There was initial confusion over Hale’s gender identity police initially described her as a cisgender woman and later said Hale identified as a transgender man.
He was armed with three handguns, including a semiautomatic rifle, and was shot dead by police.
Hale, who had no criminal record, was a former student at the school and officials believe “resentment” may have been the motive for the attack.
The shooter had drawn a list and detailed map of the school with access points. The police are now examining these documents.
Police received the first call regarding the incident Monday (27/3) at 10:13 local time (11:13 GMT).
The suspect drove to the school and shot through one of the doors, which were all locked.
Video later released by the Nashville Police Department shows Hale smashing the front door windows with a gun and wandering the school’s deserted hallways at one point passing a room marked “Children’s Ministry.”
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Relatives of children in front of the American school that was the target of the attack
In the footage, Hale wears what appears to be a body armor and carries an assault rifle in one hand, with a second similar weapon also visible above her left hip.
As police cars arrived, Hale shot into them, hitting one of the vehicles through the windshield, police said.
A police officer was injured by broken glass. Police stormed into the school and killed Hale at 10:27 a.m. local time.
A search of a car parked nearby led officers to “strongly believe” Hale was a graduate of the school, police said.
Officers spoke with Hale’s father during a search of a nearby home listed as the shooter’s address.
Nashville Police Chief John Drake said investigators found a manifesto and “a map of how this was all going to play out,” including the entrances and exits to the school building.
A search of Hale’s home found other weapons, including two shotguns, in addition to those used in the attack.
Hale’s mother, Norma Hale, told ABC News, “It’s really, really hard right now,” before asking for privacy.
A police spokesman told the Washington Post that Hale “is a biological female who used male pronouns on a social media profile.”
The Covenant School, affiliated with the Presbyterians, is located in the upscale neighborhood of Green Hills, just south of downtown Nashville.
In a statement, the school said “our community is heartbroken.”
“We are suffering a tremendous loss and are shocked by the terror that has destroyed our school and church.”
The mother of a student said her son was traumatized. “I think he’s better now that he knows the shooter is dead,” Shaundelle Brooks told BBC News.
“These are conversations we shouldn’t be having,” she added. “We are failing our children”
Hours after the shooting, a memorial service was held for the victims at a church next to the school.
Pastor Clay Stauffer tearfully said that Evelyn Dieckhaus is nine years old and her sister, who is two years older than her, has plans to be baptized in a few weeks, according to the local Tennessee newspaper.
Evelyn’s sister cried as she said, “I don’t want to be an only child.”
US President Joe Biden called the shooting “the family’s worst nightmare”.
“We need to do more to end gun violence,” he said, urging Congress again to pass tougher gun control laws. “It’s destroying our communities and the soul of this nation.”
The attack marked the 129th mass shooting in the United States in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit organization that tracks gun violence data.
As of the end of last week, there have been 12 school shootings in the United States this year, resulting in deaths or injuries, according to data compiled by Education Week.