Nashville, United States.- A person identified as a transgender man killed 6 people, including 3 children, at his former school, a Presbyterian Church educational center in Nashville, Tennessee. This is what is known.
How many people died?
Six people died at a small Christian private school south of downtown Nashville on Monday, killed by a person who opened fire on the building where about 200 students study, according to police.
Nashville Police said six were dead, including three students, the elementary principal, a guardian and a substitute teacher.
The victims were identified as Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; Mike Hill, 61; and Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, ages 8 and 9. Agents killed the person who fired the shots.
The website for The Covenant School, founded in 2001, lists Katherine Koonce as the school’s principal. Her LinkedIn profile says she had run the school since July 2016. Peak was a substitute teacher and Hill was a custodian, according to investigators.
What is known about the shooter?
Police identified the school shooter as a 28-year-old woman, and later as Audrey Hale.
Authorities reported that Hale had studied at the school, but it was unclear if he had any ties to the institution or any relatives there. According to authorities, he had drawn up a detailed map of the school and guarded the building before carrying out the massacre.
Hale was also said to have two “assault-type” weapons and a handgun when he fired shots at the front door to get into the building. It is believed that he acquired at least two of them legally in the Nashville area. Investigators found two shotguns, one sawed-off, and other evidence in a search of Hale’s home.
Police said he did not attack specific people and that he was under medical treatment for an “emotional disorder.”
How did the person who fired the shots die?
Five Nashville police officers entered the school upon the initial call. As they were evacuating students and staff on the ground floor, they heard gunshots on the second floor.
Two officers opened fire, killing Hale at 10:27 a.m.
In security camera video, Hale is seen shooting through the glass doors to enter the school before stalking the empty hallways as emergency alarm lights flash.
Hale, who was wearing a black military-style vest, camouflage pants and a red cap, walked through the building and opened fire on children and employees.
Police arrived at the scene about 15 minutes after the first emergency call. Body camera footage of officers shows them entering classrooms and multiple shots are heard as they approach the site where Hale was shot.
Averianna Patton, a former high school classmate of Hale’s, told CNN that she had sent him direct messages via Instagram shortly before the massacre.
“Someday this will make more sense,” Hale wrote. “I left behind more than enough evidence. But something bad is about to happen.”
Patton said he called police to raise an alert about the time the shooting was beginning.
Is the reason known?
Investigators sent to Hale’s home shortly after his death found a map of the school with a marked route to the shooting, and also found writings.
Police have not confirmed a motive, and it was also unclear if Hale was trying to shoot anyone in particular.
Police Chief John Drake said officers found writing with a detailed plan to attack the school and possibly other locations. In an interview with NBC News, he said investigators believe Hale had “some resentment about going to that school.”
