Six people, including three nine-year-old children, were killed.
It’s a gruesome, all-too-familiar story. Yesterday, just after 10 a.m., a shooter entered the Covenant School, a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, and opened fire. We’re breaking down what we know so far about the tragedy and the response, plus, a first-hand account of the scene.
The Nashville school shooting victims
Three children and three adults were killed. They’ve been identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney — all just 9 years old —and Katherine Koonce, 60, Mike Hill, 61, and Cynthia Peak, 61.
Evelyn’s next-door neighbor Nick Riegal, 45, whose two kids played with her, told NBC “was everything a 9-year-old should be. She was in and out of our house on a regular basis playing tag.”
According to the website, Koonce was the head of the school. Hill was on the custodial/kitchen staff. It’s believed that Peak was a substitute teacher.
Who was the Covenant school shooter?
The shooter, who was killed in gunfire with police, was 28-year-old Audrey E. Hale, a former student at the school. Hale was armed with two assault-style weapons and a handgun, which were obtained legally. Hale’s parents were apparently aware that Hale had bought and sold a weapon, but seven guns were discovered hidden at home. Hale had also prepared detailed maps of the school, as well as a manifesto that’s now under review by authorities.
Just before 10 a.m. on Monday, Hale sent a chilling Instagram message to childhood friend Averianna Patton, saying “I’m planning to die today” and that their death would be on the news. Patton, a Nashville radio host, told CNN that she and Hale played basketball together as kids, but hadn’t spoken to each other in years. She said she was unsure why she’d received the message.
John Drake, the chief of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, said it was too soon to discuss a possible motive.
“We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place,” he said. “There’s right now a theory that we may be able to talk about later but it’s not confirmed, so we’ll put that out as soon as we can.” Drake said Hale was “someone that had multiple rounds of ammunition, prepared for a confrontation with law enforcement, prepared to do more harm than was actually done.”
On Tuesday, Drake said that Hale was receiving treatment for an emotional disorder.
There has been some confusion about Hale’s gender identity. The police initially referred to Hale as female, but according to their LinkedIn profile and a social media post, they were using male pronouns.
Drake was asked during a press conference whether Hale’s gender identity may have played into what he called a “targeted attack.”
“There is some theory to that,” he replied, adding: “We’re investigating all the leads, and once we know exactly, we will let you know.”
A police spokesperson later followed up on these remarks in an email to the Washington Post.
“Audrey Hale is a biological woman who, on a social media profile, used male pronouns,” Don Aaron wrote.
The speculation about Hale has already ignited fears about the potential repercussions for the trans community. Within minutes of the police saying that Hale was trans, the hashtag #TransTerrorism was trending on Twitter. It looks likely that the focus will aggravate an already fractious and for many, extremely scary atmosphere.
“We are terrified for the LGBTQ community here,” Kim Spoon, a trans activist based in Knoxville, Tennessee, told NBC News. “More blood’s going to be shed, and it’s not going to be shed in a school.”
The scene
Rachel Wegner, children’s reporter for The Tennessean, tells Katie Couric Media that when she arrived at the scene of the shooting “everyone was bleary-eyed and looked afraid.” Parents frantically searched for answers: “I saw a man sprinting up the hill toward the school… He was wearing scrubs and said he left work to find out if the shooting was at his son’s school.” His son was at another school and was OK, but Wegner noticed, “he looked relieved but shaken.”
The parents of three children were met with unthinkable news: “I was hearing updates from colleagues at the hospital emergency department, along with the church where families were meeting. They said the sounds of screams echoing off the walls are unforgettable.”
The response
“All of Tennessee was hurt yesterday, but some parents woke up without children, children woke up without parents and without teachers, and spouses woke up without their loved ones,” said Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. A close family friend of Lee’s died in the shooting.
“We have to do more to stop gun violence,” President Biden said during a press briefing. “It’s ripping our communities apart.”
The president spoke last night with Nashville Mayor John Cooper, and Gov. Bill Lee. In a proclamation, he ordered that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff at the White House, public buildings, military posts and naval stations, and various U.S. facilities abroad, until sunset on Friday.
The gesture, he said, is “a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence” in Nashville.”
In his remarks since the shooting, Biden has repeatedly stressed the need to stem the source of this recurring tragedy. “It’s sick,” he said. “We have to do more to stop gun violence… These children, these teachers, we should be focusing on their mental health as well.”
The president has been supported in his sentiments by other members of his party. “We spent all last week talking about the ‘woke-ism’ in our schools, about how Republicans think things like books and lessons pose a threat to our children,” said Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts. “Well, three kids died today at the hands of gun violence.”
“I hope that at some point, we can come together to do more than offer our prayers for the victims of mass school shootings, and instead take real action that protects students when they go to school.”
Crucial conversations
For more on the heartbreaking effects of this senseless violence, tune into these vital conversations with Sissy Goff, a counselor who worked with parents and students at the reunification center after the shooting, as well as Ashbey Beasley, a survivor of the mass shooting in Highland Park last year who went viral after speaking up at a press conference in Nashville yesterday.
