Six people – including three children – are dead after a transgender female shooter opened fire at a private school in Nashville, killing three nine-year-old children and three staff members.
According to the Daily Mail, The shooter was 28-year-old Audrey Hale, who at one time attended the school. Police said she identified as transgender, and online profiles show Audrey used ‘he/him’ pronouns.
At around 10.13 am, she opened fire at The Covenant School, shooting and killing nine-year-old Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney. Substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, head of school Katherine Koonce, 60, and custodian Mike Hill, 61, were also killed.
It’s unclear what Hale’s motive was, but police believe she attended the school at some point. She had detailed, drawn maps of the school and had been surveilling it, according to police.
‘We have a manifesto, we have some writings. We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place,’ Nashville Police John Chief Drake said.
The small school is run by a church and does not employ a school resource officer. Shortly before 10.13 am, the woman entered the school through a side door and began opening fire on the second floor.
It’s unclear how she gained access to the building. Police say all of the doors were locked. Police arrived at the scene and heard the gunshots coming from the 2nd floor.
By 10,.27am, she had been shot dead. She was armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun. Parents have been told to collect their children from a nearby church, but no other information has been given.
‘I know this is probably the worst day of everyone’s lives. ‘I can’t tell you how sympathetic we are,’ a Metro Police officer was heard telling the parents as they waited at a nearby church for updates. Neighbors of the school watched as parents frantically rushed to the scene to find their children. ‘Everyone as a parent is terrified.
