Nashville private school shooting suspect had manifesto, maps of building and scouted possible second attack location, police say

By CNN Newsource

Published March 27, 2023 6:13 PM

UPDATE: According to ABC News, Nashville Police Chief John Drake says the suspect was female and identified as transgender but didn't immediately provide more details.

(CNN) -- A shooter who killed three 9-year-old students and three adults at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville Monday had maps of the school, a manifesto and scouted a second possible attack location, police said.

Police identified the shooter as Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old former student at the school, and called the attack targeted. Hale was shot and killed by police during the attack, which was the deadliest school shooting in nearly a year.

Authorities said Hale, armed with two AR-style weapons and a handgun, entered the Covenant School by shooting through a side door, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said at a news conference. Drake said investigators found Hale had "maps drawn of the school in detail, surveillance, entry points."

Hale fired multiple shots on the first and second floors of the school, police said. A five-member team of police officers heard the gunfire, went to the second floor and fatally shot the shooter, police spokesperson Don Aaron said earlier Monday.

The first call about the shooting came in at 10:13 a.m. and the shooter was dead 14 minutes later, Aaron said.

Drake said the suspect was a student at the school at one point but didn't elaborate. A vehicle located nearby gave clues as to the suspect's identity, he said.

The Nashville Fire Department tried to provide lifesaving efforts to those with "viable signs of life" and transported three children along with two adults from the scene, Fire spokesperson Kendra Loney said. They did not survive.

Nashville police identified the victims Monday afternoon as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9 years old; Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61.

One police officer who responded to the scene was wounded from cut glass, Aaron said.

Hale obtained at least two of the weapons legally, Drake said.

The incident is the 19th shooting at a school or university so far this year in which at least one person was wounded, according to a CNN tally. Last week, two faculty members were shot and wounded by a student at a high school in Denver, and the student was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

With six victims, Monday's attack is the deadliest school shooting since the heinous attack in Uvalde, Texas, last May that left 21 people dead.

The Covenant School is a private Christian school founded in 2001 as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church and teaches preschool through 6th grade, according to its website. On a typical day it has 209 students and 40 to 50 staff members, Aaron said.

"The beauty of a PreSchool-6th school is in its simplicity and innocence," the school says on its site. "Students are free to be children -- they can feel fully and safely known by our faculty and become leaders under their guidance."

Concerned loved ones gathered outside school

The mass shooting garnered a massive police and fire response, and concerned families gathered outside the school to wait for word of their loved ones.

Avery Myrick, whose mother is a teacher at the school, told CNN affiliate WSMV her mom texted that she was hiding in a closet and could hear shooting all over the school. She later spoke to her mother on the phone and learned she was safe.

"Just getting that initial phone call that she was OK, it obviously brings a ton of relief, but you're still hurting for the people out there who may not get that call," she said.

Jozen Reodica, who works at Shearwater Health across the street from the school, took video of police escorting students out of the school on Monday. In the video, the children are holding hands and walking in a line down the street.

She told CNN she realized something was wrong when she saw several police cars arrive at the scene.

"They (police) started to close down the roads. It happened so fast. I saw a policeman run to the scene and then after a few minutes kids were already crossing," Reodica said.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said the agency is assisting Metro Nashville Police Department on the investigation and will provide independent oversight on the officer-involved shooting aspect.

Police said they are working to analyze video from the school showing the shooting.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper offered his condolences in a statement.

"In a tragic morning, Nashville joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting. My heart goes out to the families of the victims. Our entire city stands with you. As facts continue to emerge, I thank our first responders and medical professionals," he said.

President Joe Biden said in a news conference the shooting was "sick" and "heartbreaking" and urged Congress to take further action on gun safety legislation.

"We have to do more to stop gun violence. It's ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation, ripping at the very soul of the nation," he said. "And we have to do more to protect our schools, so they aren't turned into prisons."

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also called on lawmakers to pass laws addressing gun safety.

"How many more children have to be murdered before Republicans in Congress will step up and act to pass the assault weapons ban, to close loopholes in our background check system, or to require the safe storage of guns? We need to do something," she said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.