Nashville police revealed that Audrey Haley, the 28-year-old who shot and killed six people at the Covenant School, including three children, was “transgender” and had a manifesto to attack the Christian academy.
Hale was a former student of the school. Officials said she entered the school and began shooting through a door on the side of the building.
While inside, Hale killed three nine-year-old students: Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney. She also killed a custodian, Mike Hill, a substitute teacher, Cynthia Peak, both 61 years old, and the school head Katherine Koonce, 60. Officers killed Hale on the second floor of the school.
Police said Hale committed the shooting with at least two “assault weapons” and a handgun. While searching her family’s home, officers found detailed maps and a manifesto of the attack.
“We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this day,” Nashville Metropolitan Police Chief John Drake said during a press conference.
Drake added that Hale was “prepared to do more harm than was actually done,” and that Hale planned to attack another school in the area but refused to because the school was too secure.
“There were maps drawn of the school, in detail—of surveillance, entry points, etcetera,” he continued.
The shooter in Nashville left behind a manifesto. She had a different school in mind but settled on one she was familiar with. She was well armed with two assault rifles and a handgun. This was a premeditated act of violence against America’s children and teachers. I’m a former…
— PaulMay.Patriot (@PaulMaypatriot) March 27, 2023
Drake praised the officers who immediately “went in to address the threat.”
“We would never wait to make entry and to go in to stop a threat, especially when it deals with our children,” he said.
Following the Tennessee school shooting, President Joe Biden called for gun control. He began his remarks by joking that he only showed up to address the shooting because he heard there would be ice cream.
“We have to do more to stop gun violence,” Biden said. “It’s ripping our communities apart. It’s ripping at the soul of this nation.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blamed Republicans for the shooting, calling for them to pass an “assault weapons” ban.
“While we don’t yet know all of the details in this latest tragic shooting, we know that too often our schools and communities are being devastated by gun violence,” Pierre said.
“How many more children have to be murdered before Republicans in Congress will step up and act to pass the assault weapons ban, to close loopholes in our background check system, or to require the safe storage of guns,” she added. “We need to do something.”
Republicans are not to blame for the shooting. Instead of providing Ukraine with billions of dollars in its war against Russia, the White House should prioritize spending money and resources to secure schools.
