Nashville shooting

Nashville police said an "active shooter event" had occurred at the Covenant School and that the shooter was dead. A hospital said three children and two ...

As a parent, I both ache for them and rage with them that fear of this kind of tragedy is just accepted as just part of what it means to raise kids these days." I have also visited the church in the past. On a regular day there would be about 209 students and 42 staff members at the school, Aaron said. Nashville Police Chief John Drake said the parents of the children who were killed have been notified. Aaron said he was not aware of any other gunshot victims from the shooting. [The shooting](https://wpln.org/post/law-enforcement-investigating-suspected-shooting-at-green-hills-school/) occurred at Covenant School, a private religious school in Nashville.

A female shooter who appeared to be a teenager fatally shot three students and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville, before she was shot ...

“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. I saw a policeman run to the scene and then after a few minutes kids were already crossing,” Reodica said. She later spoke to her mother on the phone and learned she was safe. 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. “They (police) started to close down the roads. A vehicle was located nearby and gave clues as to the suspect’s identity, he added. On a typical day it has 209 students and 40 to 50 staff members, Aaron said. The shooter, who was not identified, entered the Covenant School via a side door and was armed with at least two assault-style rifles and a handgun, said Metro Nashville Police spokesperson Don Aaron. Last week, two faculty members were shot and wounded by a student at a The first call on the shooting came in at 10:13 a.m. Police are working to analyze video from the school showing the incident, he added.

Nashville police say the shooter was a 28-year-old who may have been a former student.

"It is ripping at our communities apart, and ripping at the very soul of this nation." You can also get in touch in the following ways: Are you in the area? In the hours that followed the shooting, parents gathered at a nearby church to be reunited with their children. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. "Our entire city stands with you." One officer was injured by broken glass during the operation. "These are conversations we shouldn't be having," she added. In a statement, Nashville Mayor John Cooper said the city had "joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting". A search of a nearby parked car had led officers to "firmly believe" that Hale was a former student of the school. Police have spoken with the attacker's father during a search of a nearby home that is listed as the shooter's address. Six people have been killed in a school shooting in the US city of Nashville, Tennessee.

The three children shot and killed were each nine years old, and the three adults killed all worked at the school, police said.

Officers entered the first story of the school building and began to clear it when they heard gunfire on the second level, said Don Aaron, a spokesperson for Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Officials established a reunification center nearby where students inside the school were transported in the aftermath of the shooting. Authorities believe that two of the weapons may have been obtained legally and locally, according to the police chief. We know and believe that entry was gained by shooting through one of the doors, is how they actually got into the school," Drake said. "We've also determined there were maps drawn of the school in detail of surveillance, entry points, etc. The suspected shooter was fatally shot by police at Covenant School in the city's Green Hills neighborhood, authorities said.

Officials say three adults and three children were killed in a shooting at a private Christian grade school in Nashville.

The Covenant School was founded as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church, according to the school’s website. Shamendar Talwar, a social psychologist from the United Kingdom who is working on an unrelated mental health project in Nashville, raced to the church as soon as he heard news of the shooting to offer help. He said he was one of several chaplains, psychologists, life coaches and clergy inside supporting the families. Two officers from a five-member team opened fire in response, fatally shooting the suspect at 10:27 a.m., Aaron said. “From school shootings historically, very often we think that people have some historical connection or emotional connection to the school. The suspect’s identity as a woman surprised experts on mass shootings.

The shooter was also killed after police officers responded on Monday morning at the Covenant School, the authorities said.

Founded in 2001 as a ministry of the Covenant Presbyterian Church, the Covenant School bills itself as “intentionally small” with about 200 students, according to The police received a report of the shooting at 10:13 a.m. Officials used “she” and “her” to refer to the shooter, but, according to a social media post and a LinkedIn profile, the shooter appeared to identify as male in recent months. “I want a politician to sit in a church with families and 250 kids downstairs that are white as a sheet and trembling and gray and yellow and green and blue because of the shock.” Rachael Anne Elrod, the Metro Nashville School Board chair, said she was inside “the worst waiting room you can imagine” as officials set about reuniting children with their parents. A few women gathered around a livestream of the news conference, gasping and shaking their heads. Hallie Scruggs was the daughter of Chad Scruggs, the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church, according to a biography published online by his former church in Dallas. “We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place,” he said. Chief Drake said that the assailant was “at one point a student” at the school. The police in Nashville identified the six victims as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9, and the adults as Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher; Mike Hill, 61, a custodian; and Katherine Koonce, 60. In the clip, two sets of glass doors shatter from bullets before the assailant ducks into the building through the broken glass. In the latest episode of gun violence that has devastated American families and communities, the assailant opened fire just after 10 a.m.

The shooter, identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, was shot and killed by police during the Monday attack, leaving behind “drawn out” maps of the Covenant ...

We are focused on loving our students, our families, our faculty and staff and beginning the process of healing,” Covenant school said in a statement obtained by CNN affiliate We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our school and church. At 10:13 a.m., police got a call of an active shooter inside Covenant school and rushed to the scene. We ask for privacy as our community grapples with this terrible tragedy – for our students, parents, faculty and staff,” the statement continued. Video showed the children holding hands and walking in a line out of the school, where there were community members embracing. Police have referred to Hale as the “female shooter” and at an evening press conference added that Hale was transgender. But experience has taught us that we need to be prepared because in this day and time it is the reality of where we are,” Nashville Metropolitan Councilman Russ Pulley told CNN. A search warrant executed at Hale’s home also resulted in the seizure of a sawed-off shotgun, a second shotgun and other evidence, according to police. “I was hoping this day would never ever come here in the city. With six victims, the shooting at Covenant is the deadliest school shooting since the attack in Uvalde, Texas, last May left 21 people dead. Investigators were expected to spend Tuesday processing the scene and gathering more details about what happened during the roughly 14 minutes of terror at the elementary school. The video goes on to show the suspect walking through the hallways, pointing an assault style weapon.

They sang and prayed with the roughly 200 elementary students and 40 or 50 staff at the Presbyterian Church in America school and listened as pastor Matthew ...

Neil Spence of the Nashville Presbytery of the PCA called for lament “in the face of unbearable grief and trial.” He said, “Words fail us in speaking of this tragedy even to one another, but our prayers will not fail us in lifting our pleas to God for mercy and the grace that is needed. “We’re about to enter Holy Week, and it’s going to be a different kind of Holy Week for sure,” said Parker, thinking to what he’ll preach on Sunday—Palm Sunday—in the room where parents feared their kids were gone, where teachers learned that their students and colleagues were killed. The Nashville shooting is the deadliest attack on a school since 21 students were killed in Uvalde, Texas, last May. In the hours after the shooting, leaders and ministries offered prayers; churches and schools scheduled vigils. He prayed for peace, asking God for the safety of each child whose parents anxiously sat in his pews—or cried on the floor. The children gathered in the fellowship hall, where the student minister handed out coloring sheets and began processing the shooting with them. At Woodmont Baptist, not long after they heard the sirens whir by, pastors and staff read reports of a shooting at Covenant. They sang and prayed with the roughly 200 elementary students and 40 or 50 staff at the Presbyterian Church in America school and listened as pastor Matthew Sullivan “raises it to another level,” as one student [put it](https://vimeo.com/781123721), with his kid-friendly Bible lesson. They shot and killed the suspect, whom they later identified as a transgender person. They arrived less than 15 minutes later and followed the sounds of gunfire to the second floor of the private Christian elementary school. Police identified them as Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs, the daughter of Covenant Presbyterian Church senior pastor Chad Scruggs. A few hours later, though, parents crowded into the sanctuary of Woodmont Baptist Church, two miles down the road, waiting to hear the worst.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Investigators seeking clues to the latest bout of mass gun violence in the U.S. pored over a "manifesto" and other writings ...

so far this year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman. "We have to do more to stop gun violence," Biden said at the White House. The school serves preschool through sixth graders and held an active-shooter training program in 2022, local television station WTVF-TV reported. The three slain school children, all age 9, were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney. The footage then shows the assailant stalking through a hallway as alarm lights flash. He said the Covenant School was singled out for attack but that the individual victims were targeted at random.

A heavily armed assailant fatally shot six people, including three children, at a private elementary school. The motive for the shooting is under ...

The Covenant School is a private school that was founded in 2001 as a ministry of the Covenant Presbyterian Church. The denomination’s report on gender and sexuality, prepared in 2020, refers to “the sinfulness of homosexual and transgender desire as well as conduct.” Chief Drake said the shooter identified as transgender, and officials used “she” and “her” to refer to the attacker. As of Monday evening, the motive was unknown. The assailant was “prepared for a confrontation with law enforcement” and “prepared to do more harm” before being killed, Chief Drake said. The police received a report of the shooting at 10:13 a.m. [identified the shooter](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/27/us/nashville-school-shooting-audrey-hale.html) as Audrey E. A total of 108 people, she added, were transported to the nearby Woodmont Baptist Church, where parents were reunited with their children. Wearing camouflage pants, a black vest and a backward red baseball cap, the shooter walks through rooms and hallways with a weapon drawn. The attack on Monday was the 13th school shooting in the United States this year that resulted in injury or death, according Three students and three adults were fatally shot by a heavily armed attacker on Monday morning at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, according to the city’s Police Department. The authorities were reviewing writings and had made contact with the shooter’s father, Chief Drake said.

Three children and three adults have been killed in by an ex-student at a school in Nashville.

"It is ripping our communities apart, and ripping at the very soul of this nation." You can also get in touch in the following ways: Are you in the area? The mother of one pupil said her son had been left traumatised. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. "These are conversations we shouldn't be having," she added. A search of their home led to officers seizing more firearms. In a search of the shooter's home, more weapons were recovered, in addition to the ones used in the attack, including a sawed-off shotgun and a second shotgun. A search of a nearby parked car led officers to "firmly believe" that Hale was a former student of the school, said police. Nashville Police Chief John Drake said investigators there found a manifesto and "a map of how all of this was going to play out", including entry and exit points at the school building. The suspect drove to the school and got in by firing through one of the school doors, which were all locked. Three children and three adults have been killed in a shooting by an ex-student at a school in the US city of Nashville, Tennessee.

The female suspect was killed by police during a confrontation after the violence at The Covenant School, a Presbyterian school for about 200 students from ...

The Covenant School was founded as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in 2001, according to the school’s website. “I have also visited the church in the past. Helicopter footage from WTVF also showed the officers looking around a wooded area between the campus and a nearby road.

Police say Audrey Hale attended the Covenant School in Nashville, where six were killed Monday.

[shooting](https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2023/03/27/6-people-killed-in-tennessee-elementary-school-shooting-officials-say/?sh=25ac57c44335) took place Monday morning, with law enforcement [reporting](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/school-shooting-tennessee-leaves-multiple-injured-shooter-dead-officia-rcna76841) they were first alerted to the shooter at 10:13 a.m. According to the [Violence Project](https://www.theviolenceproject.org/mass-shooter-database/), out of 172 mass shootings that had taken place prior to the Nashville attack that had killed more than four people, only four assailants had been female. Approximately 209 students and 42 faculty members were on campus on a typical day, [according](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/school-shooting-tennessee-leaves-multiple-injured-shooter-dead-officia-rcna76841) to police spokesperson Don Aaron. [6 People Killed In Tennessee Elementary School Shooting, Officials Say](https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2023/03/27/6-people-killed-in-tennessee-elementary-school-shooting-officials-say/?sh=25ac57c44335) (Forbes) [Nashville School Shooter Allegedly A 28-Year-Old Woman—An Extreme Rarity In Mass Shootings](https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/03/27/nashville-school-shooter-allegedly-a-28-year-old-woman-an-extreme-rarity-in-mass-shootings/?sh=40ea8eef865e) (Forbes) [Nashville Christian school shooter was a former student, police chief says](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nashville-christian-school-shooter-appears-former-student-police-chief-rcna76876) (NBC News) There are 131 mass shootings in total that have taken place so far in the U.S. President Joe Biden [called](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/27/biden-tennessee-school-shooting-gun-control-congress) the shooting “heartbreaking” on Monday and called on Congress to pass an assault weapons ban—which Republicans are still [resisting](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3920813-senate-gop-gun-reform-legislation-unlikely-after-nashville-school-shooting/)—saying gun violence was “ripping our communities apart” and the U.S. Covenant School is a private Christian school that [describes](https://www.thecovenantschool.com/welcome/) itself as “helping children become who God intends them to be,” and the school was founded in 2001 as a ministry of the Covenant Presbyterian Church. [K-12 School Shooting Database](https://k12ssdb.org/all-shootings). A typical student.” [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nashville-christian-school-shooter-appears-former-student-police-chief-rcna76876) he remembered Hale as a third and fourth grade student in 2005 and 2006, noting Hale didn’t appear in the yearbook after that and likely transferred, saying there was “nothing unusual” about the student and Hale was “just a typical co-ed. [confirmed](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-live-updates-rcna76861), describing the suspect as a “talented artist and good student,” and the suspect’s personal website said Hale was a freelance graphic designer and illustrator with two cats who “enjoy[s] binging on video games, watching movies, and playing sports,” according to [ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/US/nashville-shooter-audrey-hale/story?id=98166039). [shooting](https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2023/03/27/6-people-killed-in-tennessee-elementary-school-shooting-officials-say/?sh=25ac57c44335) at Covenant School Monday that killed six people, and have identified the alleged shooter as 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale—here’s what we know about the suspect so far.

Authorities released graphic body camera footage showing the fatal confrontation between police and the shooter at the private religious school.

Surveillance footage shows Hale driving to the school in a Honda Fit and then shooting out the glass of a side door in order to enter the building. Graphic body camera footage released Tuesday shows multiple officers sweeping the school, as an alarm blares and gunshots are heard in the distance. At a vigil, Evelyn's sister cried as she said, "I don't want to be an only child." Hale also shot at responding officers through a second-story window, authorities said. Authorities initially identified Hale as a woman, but later clarified that Hale used he/him pronouns. The attacker, who police identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale of the Nashville area, was a former student of the school.

A heavily armed assailant fatally shot six people, including three children, at a private elementary school. The 28-year-old assailant was shot dead by ...

The Covenant School is a private school that was founded in 2001 as a ministry of the Covenant Presbyterian Church. The shooter, who the authorities said was a former student at the school, was shot and killed by the police. The dead included a 72-year-old woman who was asleep in bed; a teenage mother and her infant; and a 19-year-old man. Amanda Rosenberger, who said she was a survivor of a shooting on her college campus, spoke to the crowd. The police received a report of the shooting at 10:13 a.m. The assailant was killed about 14 minutes after the shooting was first reported, according to a police spokesman. At one point, an officer on the second floor calls out that “we’ve got one down.” A series of gunshots — close to a dozen total — is heard. The authorities said on Tuesday that the 28-year-old perpetrator had legally purchased seven firearms recently — including the three used in the shooting — and was being treated by a doctor for an emotional disorder. After the police received a first report of the shooting at 10:13 a.m. Officials used “she” and “her” to refer to the shooter, but, according to a social media post and a LinkedIn profile, the shooter appeared to identify as male in recent months. There were additional writings found in the car driven to the school and the family’s home, and officials are also examining a cellphone found in the car. Hill and Evelyn were all dead, as were two other 9-year-old students and a substitute teacher who had been fatally shot in the attack.

How many people were killed? Nashville police said six people, including three students, were killed. The victims were identified as Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine ...

Police Chief John Drake said officers found writings that detailed the plan to attack the school and potentially other locations. Police said the shooter had made a detailed map of the school and conducted surveillance of the building before carrying out the massacre. Investigators were sent to the shooter’s home shortly after Hale was killed, police said. Police received a call about an active shooter at The Covenant School — a Presbyterian school — around 10:15 a.m. At least two of them were believed to have been obtained legally in the Nashville area, police said. After the news conference, police spokesperson Don Aaron declined to elaborate on how Hale identified.

Police release body camera footage of attack at Christian primary school that left three children, three adults dead.

“The time is now.” Surveillance footage released by police showed Hale wearing camouflage pants, a black vest over a T-shirt, and a backward red baseball cap. [school shooting](/opinions/2023/2/1/mass-shootings-are-just-one-part-of-us-gun-problem) – defined as any incident in which a gun is discharged on school property – in the United States this year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman. “I’ve left behind more than enough evidence behind. The assailant is seen shooting through a glass door to gain entry to the school before stalking the halls. Police on Tuesday were poring over what they described as a “manifesto” left by the attacker following the mass shooting at the Covenant School in the city’s leafy Green Hills community.

Authorities are searching for answers after a shooter killed six people at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee.

"We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our church and school," the school said. "We have not been able to determine a motive as of yet," the chief said. "We do have a map of the school, where it was diagramed how she would enter and how she might proceed to take on potential victims." "That moment changes everything for you, because we all can relate to the innocence of it." We need Congress to do their part." "I'm going to keep calling it out, remind people that they’re not acting," he said. 1 killer of children in America," he said. Drake had told reporters on Monday that the suspect was female and identified as transgender but didn't immediately provide more details. Hale allegedly shot through a locked door on the side of the school to gain entry, according to police. After an officer shouted "reloading," the video shows officers Rex Engelbert, a four-year veteran, and Michael Collazo, a nine-year veteran, firing at the suspect. The victims were found in different locations, Drake said. The adult victims were identified as 61-year-old substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61-year-old custodian Mike Hill and 60-year-old Katherine Koonce, who was head of the school.

America's latest mass shooting was put to a stop by police officers minutes after they arrived at Nashville's Covenant School. The shooting - which left ...

On US media outlets, police experts have noted that the response in Nashville stands in stark contrast to police actions during the May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. There, police say they recovered more weapons, as well as diagrams and other evidence that makes investigators believe the assault was well-planned. Soon after, the woman, who appears to be in communication with staff members inside, notes that "a bunch of kids" are upstairs. The officers then begin jogging down a hall, past a victim on the floor. The two officers have been identified as Rex Engelbert, a four-year veteran of the force, and Michael Collazo, a nine-year veteran. CCTV footage from inside the school depicts what happens next: glass doors shatter in a flurry of gunshots, allowing the heavily armed suspect to enter.

The shooter, who was fatally shot by police, was identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale from Nashville, authorities said. Authorities released body camera ...

However, police learned that the shooter "had been hiding several weapons within the house," Drake added. "We strongly believe there was going to be some other targets, including maybe family members, and one of the malls here in Nashville," Drake said. Responding officers saw the shooter firing on the second level, and at that point, they "engaged" her, Aaron said. "We have no evidence that individuals were specifically targeted," added Don Aaron, a spokesperson for the MNPD. Among the items found were "several different writings about other locations," in addition to the school, Drake said. Our team and the FBI have been working on this."

Security video from inside Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, captured the shooter who killed six people, including three children, blasting through a ...

Police body camera footage released Tuesday, showed the first officer arriving at the school and being met outside by a school staff member who informed the officer, "The kids are all locked down, but we have two kids that we don't know where they are." And the mitigation comes back to the training from people knowing what to do." "From what I've been told, both of those things occurred based on where students and teachers were in relation to the threat." Other video clips released by authorities captured the suspect firing several times at the glass doors on the side of the building. The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, was fatally shot by police officers on the second floor of the building, next to a broken window where the suspect allegedly fired at the patrol cars as they arrived at the scene. In the wake of recent school shootings, access to campuses and the role

As investigators searched for a motive in the killing of six people at the Covenant School in Nashville, the close-knit community there was struggling with ...

The children were running the bases — “grieving the way kids do,” Ms. “And in the very next breath, you think, ‘Well, I might be dead, too.’ I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to process those conflicting thoughts.” He was “beloved by the faculty and students who filled him with joy for 14 years,” the statement said. Hill, a father of seven and grandfather of 14, liked to cook and spend time with family, his family said in a statement. Scruggs acknowledged that “he’s in shock.” The congregation also had ties to Ms. Koonce’s and a director of family counseling at Daystar Counseling Ministries in Nashville. He described the anguish caused by the shooting — “the emptiness, the lack of understanding, the desperate desire for answers, the desperate need for hope,” he said. “The reality is, this event in Nashville is not merely an event for one school or one church or city,” said Paul Goebel, an associate pastor at Park Cities Presbyterian. The authorities said on Tuesday that the 28-year-old perpetrator had legally purchased seven firearms recently — including the three used in the shooting — and was being treated by a doctor for an emotional disorder. “I can’t do anything except plead with the Congress to act reasonably,” he said. Hill and Evelyn were all dead, as were two other 9-year-old students and a substitute teacher who had been fatally shot in the attack. And there were bright students like 9-year-old Evelyn Dieckhaus, “a light for her family,” her pastor said.

'Suspect down!': Bodycam footage shows police confrontation with Nashville school shooter: Live updates ... NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Authorities on Tuesday released ...

Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., whose district includes the site of Monday's mass shooting, received widespread criticism from gun control advocates for a ] [Christmas photo he posted in 2021](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/27/nashville-shooting-congressman-andy-ogles-posed-guns-photo/11552258002/) of his family posing with guns. [told NBC News ](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-live-updates-rcna76861)he remembers Hale as a third grader at the school in 2005 and a fourth grader in 2006. The photo, which remained on the congressman's Facebook page as of Monday night, shows his wife and two of his three children smiling and holding firearms in front of a Christmas tree. [Nashville shooting suspect killed by police in 'swift' response] [Nashville police said five officers responded to a 911 call that arrived at 10:13 a.m., and the shooter fired on arriving police vehicles from a second-story window.] [The officers found the shooter on the second floor of the building that houses the school and a Presbyterian church. Koonce earned a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, according to the school website. The staffers were Katherine Koonce, 60, identified on the ] [Covenant website ](https://www.thecovenantschool.com/faculty-staff/)as "head of school"; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and custodian Mike Hill, 61. “We love the Scruggs family and mourn with them over their precious daughter Hallie," Mark Davis, senior pastor at Park Cities Presbyterian Church, said in a statement. In Uvalde, where 19 students and two teachers were killed, it took more than 70 minutes to end the threat.] [QUICK REACTION: ] [14-minute timeline: From the Nashville school shooter's break-in to how police responded](https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2023/03/28/nashville-shooting-covenant-school-police-video/11554333002/) "Audrey, you have so much more life to live," Patton responds in the messages. Body camera footage released Tuesday shows armed Nashville officers swiftly moving from one room to another in the school before confronting Hale. [Police officers lauded for brave, swift action against heavily armed shooter] [In contrast to the painfully delayed police response to the shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, last year, law enforcement officers in Nashville took quick action Monday, likely saving several lives.] [Five officers from the Metro Nashville Police Department initially descended upon The Covenant School after a call about an active shooter came in at 10:13 a.m., and by 10:27 a.m. "It sounds like it's upstairs," an officer says as they ascend the steps to the sound of gunfire.

Another American community is reeling after a shooter killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville.

“We love the Scruggs family and mourn with them over their precious daughter Hallie,” the Texas congregation’s Senior Pastor Mark Davis said. “She and Mae Ann had birthdays one day apart and her family lived across the street from us for a period of time. “We would like to thank the Nashville community for all the continued thoughts and prayers. And may we love, especially those who have lost,” Lee said in his video message. “I am so sorry for the loss of those children,” she added. “We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our school and church. Her hometown of Leesville, Louisiana, is grieving, Owen said. May we grieve in the days ahead, but not without hope. Cindy and Mae were always together.” We cannot believe this has happened,” the statement said. May we also act with wisdom, discernment, and grace. “There is hope in the midst of great tragedy because God is a redeemer.

As Nashville residents hold vigils for the victims of Monday's mass shooting at a school, this corner of a city known for its music and live entertainment ...

"Nashville is a wonderful place to be and I feel like that bubble has burst now," said resident Laura Morris, who attended the service. She looked out at the faces of all ages. "It's no longer happening across the country. And at a church down the road, others gathered for a religious service of prayer. Locals kept arriving throughout the day to leave flowers, notes and cuddly toys for the youngest of the victims at a makeshift memorial outside the privately run Christian school. As Nashville residents hold vigils for the victims of Monday's mass shooting at a school, this corner of a city known for its music and live entertainment has fallen into a grief-stricken hush.

The attack unfolded over 14 minutes Monday morning at The Covenant School, with the heavily armed shooter firing into the elementary school to gain access and ...

Also killed were Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher; Katherine Koonce, the 60-year-old head of the school; and Mike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian, police said. Police have referred to Hale as a “female shooter,” and at an evening news conference added Hale was transgender. The first call about the shooting came in at 10:13 a.m. Bill Lee said in a video statement Tuesday. Hale graduated from Nossi College of Art & Design in Nashville last year, the president of the school confirmed to CNN. Writings left behind by Hale revealed the attack “was calculated and planned,” police said. It was also the deadliest US school shooting in nearly a year, since the May Monday, saying “I’m planning to die today” and that it would be on the news, the friend Averianna Patton told CNN on Tuesday. Patton said she then called a suicide prevention line and the Nashville Davidson County Sheriff’s Office at around 10:13 a.m. But we always want to get better. Three of those weapons, including an AR-style rifle, were used in the attack Monday. Hale’s childhood friend also revealed the shooter sent her disturbing messages just before the attack.

The assailant had been receiving treatment for an "emotional disorder," Nashville's police chief said.

Authorities found a booklet that detailed the entry point into the school, the weapons used and the clothing that the shooter wore in the attack. Drake said that the shooter may have also had other targets in mind, including a mall and possibly some family members. Hill, a school custodian, was shot through a glass door that the shooter used to enter the school, Drake said. Tennessee doesn't have a "red flag" law that could give police the authority to remove weapons from a person, Drake said. Bill Lee said that his wife, Maria Lee, was longtime friends with two of the victims, Koonce and Peak. [Nashville school shooting](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-school/) legally bought seven firearms from five local stores and used three of those weapons in Monday's attack.

Investigators were still searching for a motive in the killing of six people at the Covenant School. The police said the assailant was being treated for an ...

The Covenant School was founded in 2001 as a ministry of the Covenant Presbyterian Church. Chief Drake said the shooter identified as transgender, and officials used “she” and “her” to refer to the attacker. And she was a close friend of the wife of Gov. There were additional writings found in the car driven to the school and the family’s home. The assailant was being treated by a doctor for an emotional disorder. The shooter had a handwritten diagram of the school, along with a drawing of how it could be entered, Mr. Hallie was the daughter of Chad Scruggs, the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church, the church connected to the school. Hill was a school custodian who liked to cook and spend time with family, including his seven children and 14 grandchildren, his family said in a statement. The police received a report of the shooting at 10:13 a.m. With a weapon drawn, the shooter could be seen walking through rooms and the halls of the school, at one point passing the children’s ministry. Hale](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/27/us/nashville-school-shooting-audrey-hale.html), a 28-year-old former student of the school who lived in the area, had legally purchased seven firearms recently — including the three used in the shooting — and was being treated for an emotional disorder, the police said on Tuesday. Investigators were still searching for a motive in the killing of six people at the Covenant School.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has called for prayers in the wake of a Nashville school shooting while noting that "there will be a time to talk about the ...

Video from the school's surveillance cameras shows the suspect arriving in a vehicle and parking in the parking lot at 9:54 a.m. After an officer shouts "reloading," officers Rex Engelbert, a four-year veteran, and Michael Collazo, a nine-year veteran, both fire at the suspect. "We have not been able to determine a motive as of yet," the police chief said. As officers responded to the scene, the suspect fired on police cars from a second-floor window, police said. "We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our church and school," the school said. A police spokesperson later told ABC News that the suspect was assigned female at birth but pointed to a social media account linked to Hale that included the use of the pronouns he/him. [legally purchased](https://abcnews.go.com/US/10-deadliest-shootings-past-decade-involved-legally-purchased/story?id=98184833) seven guns from five different local stores and hid some of those weapons at home. [gunned down](https://abcnews.go.com/US/multiple-patients-reported-amid-active-aggressor-nashville-school/story?id=98152651) three children and three adults at the Covenant School in Tennessee's capital city on Monday morning. "The battle is not against flesh and blood, it's not against people. For the families of victims, for the Covenant family, for those courageous officers, for the family of the shooter, for those who are hurting and angry and confused," Lee, a Republican, said in a video address on Tuesday evening. Investigators have since searched Hale's home in Nashville, where they seized "a sawed-off shotgun, a second shotgun and other evidence," according to police. "Law enforcement officials and educators across our state have been working for years, especially in the last year, to strengthen the safety of schools.

Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old former Covenant School student who killed six people at the school Monday, carefully planned the attack, according to officials.

Colomy asked the student if it would help to step out for a second, and Hale did, the teacher said. One image included the phrase, “To Be A Kid (forever and ever).” A former vice president of the college, Byron Edwards, described Hale as, “… Patton, now a Nashville radio host, said she hasn’t had a relationship with the suspect since they were children and has only ever referred to Hale as Audrey or “she.” While the shooter’s gender identity is unclear, police told CNN Hale was assigned female at birth and that Hale used “male pronouns” on social media. Hale graduated from Nossi College of Art & Design in Nashville last year, the school’s president confirmed to CNN.

The woman standing outside Nashville's Covenant School was calm and direct. The building was locked down, but two young students were still missing.

“She had this amazing confidence, but she was a person of grace,” Lee said. “We love the Scruggs family and mourn with them over their precious daughter Hallie,” the Texas congregation’s Senior Pastor Mark Davis said. “I think it’s upstairs, it sounds like it’s upstairs,” an officer says in the video. “Our hearts are completely broken,” Evelyn’s family said in a statement. Koonce’s friend and former colleague Jim Lee told CNN he and his wife flew to Nashville after learning she had been killed. Evelyn was a shining light in this world.” “Suspect down!” Collazo screamed twice into his radio. Hale was a former student and had been under care for an “emotional disorder,” Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake said Tuesday. Armed with three weapons, Hale can be seen ducking through the broken door and entering. Some doors open to darkened rooms, small desks and chairs empty; others are locked. Engelbert’s body camera footage shows the officers hurrying through halls decorated with children’s artwork, checking classrooms in an increasingly desperate search for the shooter. Custodian Mike Hill was shot through that door, police said.

Two police officers are being hailed as heroes for their role in ending a shooting rampage at a local Christian elementary school in Nashville.

[Read more here](https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2023/03/29/nashville-shooting-melissa-joan-hart-helped-covenant-school-children/70059220007/). [Read more here](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/28/nashville-shooter-audrey-hale-instagram-dms-covenant-school/11558778002/). His sister, Deanna Collazo DeHart, told told [Fox News Digital](https://www.foxnews.com/us/rex-engelbert-michael-collazo-who-are-nashville-officers-who-took-down-covenant-school-shooter) her brother loves his job. Lee, wife close friends with victim; bodycam footage shows police confronting Nashville shooter: Updates](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/28/nashville-shooting-covenant-school-victims-motive-live-updates/11554361002/) [Actress Melissa Joan Hart helped kids flee shooter] [When children were fleeing Covenant School as a shooter roamed the hallways, actress Melissa Joan Hart and her husband ] [happened to be driving by](https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2023/03/29/nashville-shooting-melissa-joan-hart-helped-covenant-school-children/70059220007/). She said her children, Drew, 3, and Jett, 1, were safe and she and her husband, Andrew East – a former NFL player who played college ball at Nashville's Vanderbilt University – had retrieved them from their school "You'll probably hear about me on the news." The Marine Corps veteran also responded to the ] [Christmas 2020 bombing in Nashville](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/12/29/nashville-bombing-area-communications-network-exposed-achilles-heel/4070797001/), where Anthony Quinn Warner detonated a bomb downtown that took Warner's life and injured eight bystanders. Hart's children go to school near the Covenant School and she was on her way there for a parent-teacher conference, she said in an [Instagram video](https://www.instagram.com/p/CqVwpKXj_RE/) posted Tuesday. [Predators, Bruins hockey teams pay homage to victims] [The Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins took a moment to ] [remember the victims ](https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/predators/2023/03/28/nashville-predators-boston-bruins-remember-covenant-school-shooting-victims-moment-of-silence/70058377007/)Tuesday night. "They were climbing out of the woods. Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo are the officers whose body camera videos from inside The Covenant School were released by the Metro Nashville Police Department. They were among dozens of Metro Nashville police who descended on the building after the first 911 call came in at 10:13 a.m.

Parents describe feeling 'horrified' and 'devastated', imagining that it could one day be their young children.

"You hear about this happening all the time. But, she said, "Of course it will. You know, why wouldn't it happen to us?" When she first heard there was a shooting in the area, Lucas was afraid it was at her kids' institution. "You drop your kids off in the mornings and you don't think that you could get a call like this. "I feel like our souls were shattered.

Tennessee governor reveals he and his wife were friends with murdered teacher Cynthia Peak, one of six people shot dead on Monday, and had invited her to ...

Here are the receipts to prove it.’ “We want to see all the facts, we need to get the facts,” Mr McCarthy, a lawmaker from California, told the news network Wednesday. The Republican Speaker of the House was asked about the shooting, which left three children and three adults dead at a Christian elementary school in Tennessee, by CNN. Far right has latched on to identity of Nashville shooter to fuel transphobic hatred Far-right has latched on to identity of Nashville shooter to fuel transphobic hatred. White House Press Secretary says the lack of a response from the GOP is ‘unacceptable’ White House press secretary says the lack of a response from the GOP is ‘unacceptable’. Jill Biden attended a candlelight vigil in Nashville on Wednesday night to honour the three children and three adults who were murdered at the Covenant school in the city. ‘The right is the radicalized threat to public safety, not the LGBTQ community. Police said that the suspect, who was armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun on Monday, was a former student at the school who had methodically planned the attack and may have harboured “resentment” against the institution. Art college instructor Maria Colomy, who taught Hale at the Nossi College of Art & Design in Nashville, recalled a social media post from the shooter “openly grieving” the unknown individual and said that Hale had announced the bereavement and asked to be addressed as Aiden and by masculine pronouns from then on. Jill Biden attends a vigil in the city as Kevin McCarthy refuses to commit to gun control legislation

Police said 14 minutes passed between the time they got a 911 call about a shooter at a Christian school outside Nashville and the suspect's death.

Two officers engaged the suspect, who was fatally shot, according to investigators. A team of five officers arrived on the second level and saw a shooter who was firing. Officers entered the school and began clearing it when they heard shots coming from the second level, according to investigators. The suspected shooter allegedly entered the Christian school through a side entrance and went from the first floor to the second floor, firing multiple shots, police said. 10:10 a.m.: The suspect is seen in surveillance footage shooting through the front door and entering the building. 9:53 a.m.: The suspect's vehicle is seen on surveillance cameras arriving at the school and parking in the parking lot.