Nashville School Shooting: What We Know

Another tragic school shooting occurred in the U.S., this time at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Information has been pouring today (March 27) as the event unfolded in real-time, and now, the suspect has been named. According to several reports, a former art student named Audrey Hale is accused of killing three students and three staff members. It was further stated that Hale once attended The Covenant School, a private Christian institution. Hale, who was noted as being transgender in reports, was also killed in the chaos.

Police went on to identify the Nashville school shooting victims: three nine-year-olds, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs; as well as staffers Cynthia Peak, 61; the head of the school, Katherine Konce, 60; and 61-year-old Mike Hill. Police were able to tie Hale to the crime after searching a vehicle at the scene. Surviving students were later reunited with their parents at the nearby Woodmont Baptist Church.

The shooting reportedly began at approximately 10:15 in the morning. Police later confiscated information from Hale's residence, including a manifesto. “We have investigations ongoing now at the residence on Brightwood Avenue, and we have made contact with the father that lived at that residence and are putting together more information,” Nashville Police Chief John Drake said at a press conference. “We’ve also determined there were maps drawn of the school in detail, surveillance, entry points, etc. We know and believe that entry was gained through shooting through one of the doors is how they actually got into the school.”

“We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we are going over that pertain to this date of the actual incident. We have a map drawn out of how this was also going to take place. There is right now a theory that we may be able to talk about later, but it is not confirmed. We’ll put that out as soon as we can.” Drake added, “Our investigation tells us she was a former student at the school. I don’t know what grade she attended, or grades, but we do firmly believe she was a student there.”

Reports further stated that once officers entered the school, they heard gunshots from the second floor. They quickly reacted and "engaged" the suspect, shooting and killing Hale. We will keep you updated as more from this tragedy unfolds. Vie more reports and commentary from the Nashville school shooting above and below.

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