Police have identified the shooter who killed six individuals, including three children, at the Covenant Christian school in Nashville, as Audrey Hale, a former student of the school.
During a press conference on Monday, the police revealed that Hale had left behind a detailed manifesto outlining plans for the attack.
Hale, who identified as transgender, entered the building by shooting through a side door before opening fire on anyone in sight.
BREAKING: The deceased mass shooter of the Christian school in #Nashville has been identified as #trans person Audrey E. Hale. Three children & three staff were murdered. The shooting comes amid a surge in far-left death threats in Tennessee over the state https://t.co/gHQ6S0YSYd… pic.twitter.com/RbJyFe5xM9
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) March 27, 2023
The victims include three 9-year-old children, a school custodian, a substitute teacher, and the school head. Police responded quickly and Hale was killed after an encounter with officers on the second floor, only four minutes into the shooting.
The police investigation is now focusing on whether Hale’s transgender identity played a role in the deadly attack.
They are also in contact with the suspect’s father and plan to release video footage of the shooting in the coming days.
Just weeks ago, Governor Lee signed a law banning gender affirming care for minors.
Today, radical trans activist Audrey Hale shot up a Christian elementary school and murdered 6 people.
This was nothing less than an act of politically motivated domestic terrorism.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 27, 2023
The Covenant School, which was founded in 2001 as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church, is a small private school that teaches students in pre-K through 6th grade.
Representative Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, addressed reporters, stating that no existing or proposed laws could have stopped the school shooting. He stated that criminals are going to be criminals and that it is difficult to prevent someone who is willing to lose their life to carry out an attack.
He further stated that Congress could not do much to stop gun violence and that changing people’s hearts is the way to combat such atrocities.
“It’s a horrible, horrible situation, and we’re not going to fix it,” Burchett said. “Criminals are going to be criminals. And my dad, he fought in the Second World War in the Pacific against the Japanese, and he said, ‘Buddy, if somebody wants to take you out and doesn’t mind losing their life, there’s not a whole heck of a lot you can do about it.’”
Burchett added, “I don’t see any real role that [Congress] can do other than mess things up … I don’t think you’re gonna stop the gun violence; I think you’ve got to change people’s hearts.”
