On Monday, March 27, the Covenant school shooting became the 19th shooting at an American school or university in 2023; in which at least one person was wounded, according to a CNN tally, and the deadliest since the May attack in Uvalde, Texas, left 21 dead. There have been 42 K-12 school shootings since Uvalde.”
Audrey Hale, who has been identified as the shooter, used to attend The Covenant School in Nashville, which is a private Christian school catering to students from Preschool through 6th grade. Bill Campbell, the former headmaster of the school, recollected seeing Hale in the yearbooks of 2005 and 2006 when she was in third and fourth grade, respectively.
“It’s just an absolute tragedy what’s happened by the former student and what she did to the teachers and students,” Campbell said.
Campbell could not recall any issues Hale had that might raise red flags. “She was loved and appreciated like all of our students,” said former headmaster Campbell. Halle went inside the school with two rifle weapons and a handgun, metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said that two of the weapons were illegally obtained in the Nashville area.
Warning, the contents of this video contain disturbing images and sounds, viewers discretion is advised.
Nashville police released surveillance video showing the shooter arriving at the private Christian school before unleashing wrath. In the footage, the shooter can be seen driving a Honda fit to The Covenant School’s campus on Burton Hills Boulevard shortly before 10 a.m. Around 10 minutes later, as seen on the surveillance video from inside the school Hale shot open the closed the door to get access inside the school.
During the attack, Hale, shattered the school’s glass doors with ease. She was dressed in a white T-shirt, a black vest, and camouflage pants, with a red baseball cap worn backward. Hale carried a rifle hung over her shoulder, and held another rifle in her hand. After smashing the bottom of the glass door frame, she climbed through one of the openings and gained access to the school.
Once inside, Hale was observed walking around various parts of the school, appearing to search for something or someone specific. It is reported that she had no prior criminal record, and her neighbors had positive things to say about her and her family. However, the tragic incident resulted in the loss of three adults and three children.
The victims of the attack included Kathrine Koonce, the school’s headmaster, Cynthia Peak, a 61-year-old substitute teacher, and Mike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian. Additionally, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs, a 9-year-old child and daughter of the lead pastor of Covenant Church, lost their lives in the attack.
The authorities believed that Hale might have targeted the school, and they were examining writings she had left behind. It was said that Hale was also planning to target other locations.
“We have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this date, the actual incident,” Drake told reporters “We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.”
Hale also reached out to a fellow friend, her basketball teammate in middle school. According to CNN Averianna Patton received a message that Hale sent her on Instagram stating Hale was planning to die by suicide and that she would see it on the news.
The Nossi College of Art and Design in Nashville where the shooter previously studied shows the killer presenting work at the school’s senior portfolio show last spring.
Warning, the contents of this video contain disturbing images and sounds, viewers discretion is advised.
Nashville police department is digging into the background and motivations of the killer who officials said planned the attack. The Metro Nashville Police Department released body-camera footage of officers taking down the killer at the Covenant school.
President Biden called the Nashville school shooting “sick” and stated that in such a tragedy having six people dead is “A family’s worst Nightmare.”
“We have to do more to stop gun violence. It’s ripping our communities apart. It’s ripping at the very soul of the nation. We have to do more to protect our schools so they aren’t turned into prisons,” Biden said.
The President urged Congress to pass legislation to ban assault weapons, but questions remain about whether such measures would lead to tangible changes in American society.
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Written By: Karesha Graham
