Three children and three adults were killed by a former student, Audrey Hale, at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee. As per the police, the attack was carried out after meticulously planning the massacre.
Nashville chief of police John Drake told NBC News the shooter had planned to attack several different places, saying a manifesto belonging to the suspect indicates that there were going to be shootings at multiple locations, and the school was one of them.
Audrey Hale, who used “he/him” as his pronoun, had prepared a detailed map of the school and conducted surveillance before executing the mass shooting. The police have also recovered a “manifesto” and are going over the content of that manifesto.
Police believe the shooting stemmed from some resentment the suspect harbored for having to go to that school as a younger person.
The shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville is the most recent one in a string of mass shootings in the United States. Audrey Hale was carrying at least two assault rifles and a handgun when he entered the Covenant School. By using a side entry, Hale entered the school and advanced inside the building while firing several shots, before being shot down by authorities.
The victims have been identified as 9-year-olds Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, 61-year-old substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 60-year-old head of school Katherine Koonce, and 61-year-old custodian Mike Hill.
Police had been identifying the shooter as a 28-year-old woman for hours before finally naming her Audrey Hale. The police chief later revealed that Hale was transsexual during a late-afternoon press conference.
The Covenant School has about 200 students from preschool through sixth grade and about 50 staff members. The school is attached to the Covenant Presbyterian church in Nashville.
The shooting has sparked a wave of grief and outrage across the Nashville community and beyond. Vigils and memorials are being held to honour the victims and support their families. Meanwhile, investigators continue to piece together the details of this tragic event, in hopes of preventing future tragedies from occurring.