Nashville school shooting updates: 3 kids, 3 staff killed; shooter dead: On Monday, a shooter killed three children and three adults at a Christian grade school in Nashville. The suspect was shot and killed by officers at Covenant School in the Green Hills neighborhood of the city, authorities said.
A former student killed three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school after he meticulously planned the massacre, drawing detailed maps and conducting surveillance on the building.
Three children, ages 9 and 11, Hallie Scruggs, age 10, William Kinney, age 9, and Cynthia Peak, age 61, Katherine Koonce, age 60, and Mike Hill, age 61, have all been identified by authorities. Three of the adults worked at the school. It has been identified that the shooter was Audrey Hale, 28, from Nashville, who had at least two assault weapons and a handgun in her possession.
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Nashville school shooting updates: 3 kids, 3 staff killed; shooter dead
Nashville’s Covenant School massacre was the latest in a series of school shootings that have grown increasingly unnerving.
The Nashville Police Chief said their preliminary investigation indicated the shooting was targeted. Drake did not know exactly when the shooter might have been a student at the school, but his investigation suggested he may have been there once.
According to the chief, police discovered “a manifesto” and detailed school maps.
“We’ve also determined there were maps of the school with detailed surveillance, entry points, etc. We know and believe that entry was gained through one of the doors, which is how they entered the school,” Drake said. It was later revealed that the suspect entered the building through the glass panes on the doors.
Information about the shooter’s gender was unclear from the police. Audrey Hale was eventually identified as the shooter after police spent hours identifying her as a 28-year-old woman. Later that afternoon, Hale’s transgender identity was revealed at a press conference by the police chief. A police spokesperson declined to comment on Hale’s current identification after the news conference.
The shooter’s prior planning for the targeted attack was chillingly revealed by Drake, as he did not give a specific motive when a reporter asked.
We have a manifesto and writings related to that date, the actual incident, which we’re going over,” he explained. “We have a map of how this would take place.”
Police tweeted later that the shooter entered the building by shattering glass doors.
A handgun and two “assault weapons” were used by the shooter. Based on the chief’s investigation, two appeared legally obtained in Nashville.
Who were the victims?
Three 9-year-olds, Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, William Kinney, and three 61-year-old adults – Cynthia Peak, Katherine Koonce, and Mike Hill -were killed.
The Covenant School, founded in 2001, lists Katherine Koonce as its head of school on its website. According to her LinkedIn profile, the school has been under her leadership since July 2016. Investigators found that Peak worked as a substitute teacher while Hill worked as a custodian.