According to officials, three children and three adults were killed when a gunman opened fire at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville on Monday.
The suspect was fatally shot by police at Covenant School in the Green Hills neighborhood of the city.
Nashville School Shooting Victims’ Identity
The victims have been identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, ages 9, Cynthia Peak, ages 61, Katherine Koonce, ages 60, and Mike Hill, age 61. All three adults were school employees.
Police identified the shooter as 28-year-old Audrey Hale from Nashville, who was armed with at least two assault weapons and a handgun, according to officials.
The preliminary investigation into the shooting, according to Nashville Police Chief John Drake, revealed that it was a targeted attack. Drake did not know when the shooter may have attended the school, but the investigation suggested they were a former student.
The police discovered a manifesto and detailed maps of the school, according to the police chief. The police chief said, Two of the weapons, may have been legally and locally acquired.
Monday morning, Drake confirmed that the three children had been identified and that their families had been contacted.
Drake stated at the time, “Right now I will refrain from revealing the ages, but I was literally moved to tears to see this and the children being escorted out of the building.”
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Incident Happened At Christian School
Don Aaron, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, stated that officers entered the first floor of the school building and began to clear it when they heard gunfire coming from the second floor.
The officers moved upstairs and observed the shooter firing, at which point they “engaged” the shooter, who was fatally shot by two of the five responding police officers, according to the police chief.
Aaron stated that the shooter entered Covenant School through a side door and moved from the first floor to the second floor while firing multiple shots.
Covenant is a private Christian preschool through sixth-grade school in Nashville. Last year, the school reportedly conducted an active shooter training program. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation special agents were also involved in the response.
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