The Latest Updates on the Nashville Shooting
Six people were killed at a private school in Nashville, including three kids, all nine years old. The shooter also died after a shootout with police.
It happened at a place called The Covenant School a few miles south of downtown. It’s a Christian school that does Pre-K through 6th grade. Here are a few more updates we saw overnight . . .
1. The shooter was 28-year-old Audrey Hale, a former student who may have been transgender. Initial reports just said “female shooter,” but Hale had been using “he/him” pronouns online and sometimes the name “Aiden.”
Police say they found a “manifesto” and a detailed map of the school. Last we heard, they hadn’t gone into details on a possible motive. But they did say the shooter may have resented being forced to go to school there.
Hale had no criminal history, and was described as a “normal, nice person. Maybe a little quiet.”
2. Someone called 911 at 10:13 A.M. And by 10:27, it was over. So the whole thing lasted 14 minutes. Police found Hale on the second floor. Then two cops exchanged gunfire and ended it.
They found two AR-style assault weapons, and a handgun. At least two of the guns were purchased legally.
3. Three nine-year-olds and three staff members were killed. The kids’ names are Evelyn Dieckhaus (pronounced “dike-house”) . . . William Kinney . . . and Hallie Scruggs. Hallie’s dad is the senior pastor at the school’s church.
The three adults are 61-year-old Cynthia Peak, a substitute teacher . . . 61-year-old Mike Hill, a custodian . . . and 60-year-old Katherine Koonce, who was the head of the school.
4. The shooter entered through a side door that was locked. Police said the door was shot open, and then released security footage of it last night. They also said that when cops showed up, Hale fired at them from a second-floor window. (Some people got upset after a Fox News correspondent initially blamed it on an unlocked door.)
5. President Biden called for more gun reform. During a pre-planned event, he called the shooting “sick,” “heartbreaking,” and “a family’s worst nightmare.” (He was also criticized for starting the event with a joke about ice cream.)
6. A survivor of a different mass shooting jumped in during a news conference. Her name is Ashbey Beasley. She said she and her son survived the mass shooting last summer at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois. They just happened to be in Nashville yesterday on vacation.
She stepped in front of a mic and pleaded for more gun safety laws. She asked reporters who were there, “Aren’t you guys tired of being here and having to cover all of these mass shootings?” (Here’s a video.)
7. It was the 129th mass shooting in the U.S. in the first 86 days of 2023. That’s according to GunViolenceArchive.org. They include any shootings where four or more victims are injured or killed by a gun.
According to CNN, it was also the 19th shooting at a school or university this year where at least one person was wounded. Gun fatalities recently passed car-related deaths to become the leading cause of death for kids in the U.S.
