UPDATED 4:59 P.M.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) – A 28-year-old woman armed with several guns on Monday fatally shot three children and three adult staffers at a private Christian school she once attended in Tennessee’s capital city before police killed her, authorities said.
There was no immediate official word on a possible motive for the gun violence, which unfolded on a warm, sunny spring morning not long after classes had begun at The Covenant School, whose students consist mostly of elementary school-age children.
But the suspect had drawn detailed maps of the school, including entry points for the building, and left behind a “manifesto” and other writings that investigators were examining, Police Chief John Drake told an early evening news briefing.
Drake identified the suspect as a woman by the name of Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, a resident of the Nashville area and referred to the assailant by female pronouns. But in response to reporters’ questions the chief said, “She does identify as transgender.”
Whether the suspect identified a man or woman was not made clear.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department began receiving calls at 10:13 a.m. of a shooter at the school, and arriving officers reported hearing gunfire coming from the building’s second floor, police spokesperson Don Aaron told reporters.
Two officers from a five-member team shot the assailant in a lobby area, and she was pronounced dead by 10:27 a.m.
“The police department response was swift,” Aaron said.
Drake said the 28-year-old suspect had previously been a student at the school.
The attacker gained entry to the school by firing through one of the doors, the chief said.
Three students were pronounced dead after arriving at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with gunshot wounds, hospital spokesperson John Howser said in a statement. Three adult staff members were killed by the shooter, police said.
The victims were later identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age 9, along with Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61.
Besides the deceased, no one else was shot, Aaron said.
Reacting in Washington to the latest school shooting, U.S. President Joe Biden urged the U.S. Congress again to pass tougher gun reform legislation.
“It’s sick,” Biden said, addressing the issue during an event at the White House and urging Congress again to pass a ban on assault-style weapons. “We have to do more to stop gun violence. It’s ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation.”
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, said on Twitter that her office stands “ready to assist” those affected by the shooting.
But Rosanne Cash, daughter of Nashville country music icon Johnny Cash and a singer-songwriter in her own right, responded by criticizing Blackburn’s ties to the National Rifle Association (NRA) gun lobby.
“You vote against every common sense gun control bill that comes across your desk, you’ve taken over $1 million from the NRA and you rank 14th in all Congress for NRA contributions. Spare us the hand-wringing,” Cash tweeted.
At the state level, Tennessee in 2021 did away with its permit requirement for carrying a concealed handgun and now allows anyone aged 21 and older to carry a firearm, either openly or concealed, without a permit, as long as they are legally allowed to purchase the weapon.
Possessing a handgun is outlawed in Tennessee for anybody who has been convicted of a felony offense involving violence or drugs.
Students’ parents were told to gather at the nearby Woodmont Baptist Church to be reunited with their children. Parents trickled out of the building with their youngsters in tow. One woman was visibly distraught as she was escorted alone out of the church to an awaiting squad car by police officers who said they were headed to Vanderbilt.
The Covenant School, founded in 2001, is a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville with about 200 students, according to the school’s website. The school serves preschool through sixth graders and held an active shooter training program in 2022, WTVF-TV reported.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper expressed sympathy for the victims and wrote on social media that his city “joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting.”
There have been 89 school shootings – defined as anytime a gun is discharged on school property – in the U.S. so far in 2023, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman. Last year saw 303 such incidents, the highest of any year in the database, which goes back to 1970.
(Reporting by Kevin Wurm in Nashville; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh, Tyler Clifford, Rich McKay, Brad Brooks, Joseph Ax and Brendan O’Brien; Writing by Jonathan Allen and Steve Gorman; Editing by Alistair Bell, Rosalba O’Brien and Sandra Maler)
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) -A 28-year-old woman armed with several guns opened fire on Monday at a private Christian school she once attended in Tennessee’s capital city, killing three children and three adult staffers before police killed her, authorities said.
There was no immediate official word on a possible motive for the gun violence, which unfolded on a warm spring morning not long after classes began at The Convent School, whose students consist mostly of elementary school-age children.
The woman was carrying at least two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, police said.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department began receiving calls at 10:13 a.m. of a shooter at the school, and arriving officers reported hearing gunfire coming from the building’s second floor, police spokesperson Don Aaron told reporters.
Two officers from a five-member team shot the assailant in a lobby area, and she was pronounced dead by 10:27 a.m..
“The police department response was swift,” Aaron said. Police Chief John Drake later described the suspect as a 28-year-old woman from the Nashville area who “at one point was a student at this school.” But her identity was not immediately made public.
Deadly mass shootings have become commonplace in the United States in recent years, but a female attacker is highly unusual. Only four of 191 mass shootings cataloged since 1966 by The Violence Project, a nonprofit research center, were carried out by a female attacker.
Reacting to the shooting in Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden urged Congress again to pass more gun reform legislation.
“It’s sick,” he said, addressing the issue during an event at the White House. “We have to do more to protect our schools so they aren’t turned into prisons … I call on Congress again to pass my assault weapons ban.”
Three students were pronounced dead after arriving at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with gunshot wounds, John Howser, a hospital spokesperson, said in a statement. Three adult staff members were killed by the shooter, police said.
Besides the deceased, no one else was shot, Aaron said.
Students’ parents were told to gather at the nearby Woodmont Baptist Church to be reunited with their children. Parents trickled out of the building with their youngsters in tow. One woman was visibly distraught as she was escorted alone out of the church to an awaiting squad car by police officers.
The Covenant School, founded in 2001, is a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville with about 200 students, according to the school’s website. The school serves preschool through sixth graders and held an active shooter training program in 2022, WTVF-TV reported.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper expressed sympathy for the victims and wrote on social media that his city “joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting.”
There have been 89 school shootings – defined as anytime a gun is discharged on school property – in the U.S. so far in 2023, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman. Last year saw 303 such incidents, the highest of any year in the database, which goes back to 1970.
(Reporting by Kevin Wurm in Nashville; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh, Tyler Clifford, Rich McKay, Brad Brooks, Joseph Ax and Brendan O’Brien; Writing by Jonathan Allen and Steve Gorman; Editing by Alistair Bell and Rosalba O’Brien)
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UPDATED 1:28 P.M.
(Reuters) -A 28-year-old woman shot dead three children and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, before police killed her.
The woman had at least two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, police said.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department began receiving calls at 10:13 a.m. of a shooter at The Covenant School, which teaches children up to sixth grade (around 12 years old). Officers could hear gunfire coming from the school’s second floor, Don Aaron, a police spokesperson, told reporters.
Two officers from a five-member team shot at her in what Aaron described as a lobby area and she was dead by 10:27 a.m..
“The police department response was swift,” Aaron said. Police later said the shooter was a 28-year-old woman from Nashville, having earlier said she appeared to be a teenager, but have not publicly identified her.
Deadly mass shootings have become commonplace in the United States, but a female attacker is highly unusual. Only four of the 191 mass shootings since 1966 cataloged by The Violence Project, a nonprofit research center, were carried out by a female attacker.
U.S. President Joe Biden wants Congress to do more to stem gun violence and will address the shooting in remarks later on Monday, the White House said.
Three students were pronounced dead after arriving at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with gunshot wounds, John Howser, a hospital spokesperson, said in a statement. Three adult staff members were killed by the shooter, police said.
Besides the deceased, no one else was shot, Aaron said.
Students’ parents were told to gather at a nearby church.
The Covenant School, founded in 2001, is a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville with about 200 students, according to the school’s website. The school serves preschool through sixth graders and held an active shooter training program in 2022, WTVF-TV reported.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper expressed sympathy for the victims and wrote on social media that his city “joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting.”
There have been 89 school shootings – defined as anytime a gun is discharged on school property – in the U.S. so far in 2023, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman. Last year saw 303 such incidents, the highest of any year in the database, which goes back to 1970.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Additional reporting by Tyler Clifford, Rich McKay, Brad Brooks, Joseph Ax and Brendan O’Brien; Writing by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Alistair Bell and Rosalba O’Brien)
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UPDATED 1:08 P.M.
(Reuters) -A female shooter killed three children and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday before police shot her dead. The assailant appeared to be a teenage girl, police said.
Police began receiving calls at 10:13 a.m. of a shooter at The Covenant School, which teaches children up to 6th grade. Officers could hear gunfire coming from the school’s second floor, Don Aaron, a spokesperson for Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, told reporters.
The shooter had at least two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, Aaron said. Two officers from a five-member team shot at her in what Aaron described as a lobby area and she was dead by 10:27 a.m..
“We do not know who she is at this juncture,” Aaron said.
Deadly mass shootings have become commonplace in the United States, but a female attacker is highly unusual. Only four of the 191 mass shootings since 1966 cataloged by The Violence Project, a nonprofit research center, were carried out by a female attacker.
There have been 89 school shootings – defined as anytime a gun is discharged on school property – in the U.S. so far in 2023, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman. Last year saw 303 such incidents, the highest of any year in the database, which goes back to 1970.
Three students were pronounced dead after arriving at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with gunshot wounds, John Howser, a hospital spokesperson, said in a statement. Three adult staff members were killed by the shooter, police said.
Besides the deceased, no one else was shot, Aaron said.
Students’ parents were told to gather at a nearby church.
The Covenant School, founded in 2001, is a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville with about 200 students, according to the school’s website. The school serves preschool through 6th graders and held an active shooter training program in 2022, WTVF-TV reported.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper expressed sympathy for the victims and wrote on social media that his city “joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting.”
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Additional reporting by Tyler Clifford, Rich McKay, Brad Brooks, Joseph Ax and Brendan O’Brien; Writing by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell)
