A “manifesto” discovered during a search of the shooter’s home suggests a premeditated act, which could be linked to a “grudge” against the school.
The images are of a rare violence. This Monday, three children and three adults were shot dead in a primary school in Nashville, in the south of the United States, a tragedy whose circumstances are gradually being revealed by local authorities.
Former student of “The Covenant School”, the individual who committed the bloodbath, quickly shot dead by the officers who arrived on the scene, was identified as a 28-year-old transgender person, by the name of Audrey Hale, but his LinkedIn profile seems to indicate a willingness to use masculine pronouns.
Several weapons found
On social networks, the Nashville police quickly posted a video from the school’s CCTV on which the shooter can be seen arriving at 10:10 a.m. at the school gates. There, he fires several shots at the glass front door in order to enter the building.
Dressed in a red cap, a white t-shirt, military pants and a black vest that could look like a bulletproof vest, Audrey Hale is then seen for several minutes strolling through the school hallways, looking for potential targets.
He carries two rifles, one in his hand and the second hung on his back, and another weapon was found in his vehicle parked in the parking lot of the school establishment.
Warned at 10:13 a.m. and quickly dispatched to the scene, officers immediately shot him dead and he was pronounced dead a quarter of an hour after the first call for help, according to police spokesman Don Aaron. The police were also targeted by the shooter, as evidenced by a bullet impact recorded on a police car.
“Police reaction was quick, officers entered the first floor of the school and began securing it. They heard gunshots coming from the second floor,” he said.
Probably premeditated killing
The motive, still unknown, could be linked to a “grudge” against the school, noted Nashville Police Chief John Drake. A “manifesto” discovered during a search of Audrey Hale’s home mentioned other potential targets, he said.
“We have found a manifesto as well as writings that we are examining and which relate to this massacre. We have also found a plan detailing how it was all going to unfold and are starting to have leads as to his motivations,” he confirms. .
This document, as well as a map “showing access” to the school, and additional “writings” found in his vehicle, seem to indicate that the carnage was premeditated.
President Joe Biden expressed his dismay at the “repugnant” crime and ordered the White House flags flown at half-mast.
About 400 million firearms are in circulation in the United States, where in 2020 they caused more than 45,000 deaths by suicide, accident or homicide, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) .
And for the first time that year, weapons became the leading cause of death among young people aged 1 to 19, with 4,368 deaths, ahead of car accidents and overdoses, according to the CDC.
