It's not logical," said the woman, who asked not to be named out of fear of online reprisals. Fallout from the Covenant shooting was swift and dovetailed into the political crossfires resulting in the expulsion of two state lawmakers who protested gun violence inside the state Capitol before they were reinstated days later. In the chaotic hours after the shooting, scores of parents gathered at Woodmont Baptist Church to reunite with their children. Last year saw 303 such incidents, the highest of any year in the database, which goes back to 1970. Police killed Hale at the scene. More than two weeks after a mass shooting at a Nashville Christian school, investigators have not yet identified a clear motive in the attackers journal writings, and authorities have not provided any details publicly to back up their early suggestion that the shooter may have felt resentment toward the school. The 61-year-old was one of six victims slain in one of the deadliest school shootings in Tennessee history. Evelyns sister cried as she said, I dont want to be an only child.. Peak was raised in Leesville, Louisiana, and attended Leesville High School through her sophomore year in 1977, when her family relocated to Shreveport, KALB-TVin Alexandria, Louisiana, reported. "We will continue to confront our grief. For Megan Hill, the days agony unfolded over six long hours, marked by posts on Facebook in which she identified herself as the niece of one of the victims. LATEST NEWS: Officers Engelbert, Collazo seen in body cam video hailed as heroes: Nashville school shooting live updates, 'IT WAS TRULY HORRIFIC':Nashville mourns after mass shooting. It's ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation.". "So exactly how they showed her on the bodycam footage was exactly how I remember her looking and how she always dressed.". "I'll never understand, it because it's not a logical thing to do. "I am truly without words, and our children deserve better," she said. Tim Dunavant, a pastor at HartsvilleFirst United Methodist Church, said Hill wasthe last employee he hired when Dunavant ran the kitchen at the Covenant church and school more than 13 years ago. They heard shots coming from the second level; they immediately went to the gunfire. Thats the way we do that in the south. ", As officers approached, Hale fired upon them from a second story window, MNPD said. Rachel Dibble, who was at the church as families found their children, described the scene as everyone being in complete shock. "The police department response was swift," police spokesman Don Aaronsaid. Two of the victims were school. Local congressman's family photo draws criticism, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. This is a deep rupture in our lives., Metro Nashville police published a news release late Monday that said investigators found writings that revealed the attack was " calculated and planned.". Enrollment fluctuates between 195 and 210. The school's motto is "Shepherding hearts. The website counts any instance when a firearm is fired or pointed at someone in a school, or when a bullet hits school property. Some conservatives seized on that angle to blame the killings at the Christian school on Hales gender identity, with the hashtag #TransTerrorism trending on Twitter. "I have literally mind-blowing moments like, 'What in the world? ", Tennessee Gov. Ava escaped . "Theres no way to describe the feeling of seeing that many police cars except surreal," Mitchell said at Tuesday's Metro Schools Board of Education meeting. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. "Like many of you, Ive experienced tragedy in my own life, and Ive experienced the day after that tragedy. Metro Nashville Police Department released body camera video showing officers arriving at The Covenant School where six were killed. My moms brother Lord help me and my family please pray for all my cousins.. David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said authorities sent heartfelt prayers to the families of these victims. Police released more than two minutes of surveillance footage late Monday, followed by six minutes of body camera video Tuesday from officers who encountered the shooter. The video, with no audio, is more than two minutes long. Just before the shooting at The Covenant School, Patton got a message from Hale, who warned that something bad was about to happen. Dickson County Sheriff Tim Eads, who attended the meeting in which Rausch spoke about the case, said Rausch found "no clear motive" in the writings that have been analyzed. All you can show is that basically that we are all here together and hold their hand more than anything else, he said. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. So our prayers go out to these families., Ramon Antonio Vargas and the Associated Press contributed reporting, Biden says gun violence ripping our communities apart after Tennessee shooting, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Dr Shamendar Talwar, a social psychologist from the United Kingdom who is working on an unrelated mental health project in Nashville, raced to the church as soon as he heard news of the shooting to offer help. The Covenant School students who died Monday were all 9 years old, andthe staff members were in their 60s. I'm very sad for the loss of my friend, and I'm very sad for the families and the loved ones of the victims. U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., whose district includesthe site ofMonday's mass shooting, received widespreadcriticism from gun control advocates for a Christmas photo he postedin 2021 of his family posing with guns. "I doubt that there's anyone you can talk to who would even be able to answer why. The children started their morning in their cute little uniforms, they probably had some Froot Loops and now their whole lives changed today.. Two officers from a five-member team shot the assailant in a lobby area, and the suspect was pronounced dead by 10:27 a.m. [1/12]A child weeps while on the bus leaving The Covenant School, following a mass shooting at the school in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. March 27, 2023. He said he viewed one document that was specifically a plan, while another contained journal-type rantings., Ideological expressions none of that has surfaced in these writings, Rausch said. Two of the five officers on the floor opened fire on the shooter and killed Haleby 10:27 a.m., Aaronsaid. It was really scary, really sad.. The motive was not immediately known, 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 reporters. The school is kind of situated sideways, if you will. First lady. THE LATEST:What we know about Covenant School shooting in Nashville. Nashville police release chilling bodycam video after deadly shooting 04:08 Updated March 29, 2023, 1:27 AM UTC By NBC News Coverage on this live blog has ended. Nashville shooter who killed 6 drew maps, surveilled school. ", "One day this will make more sense," Hale wrote. CRIME Nashville school shooting updates: School employee says staff members carried guns Nick Gray Diana Leyva Craig Shoup Kirsten Fiscus Rachel Wegner Melissa Brown Andy Humbles Josh Keefe. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. A couple prays at the memorial for the victims of the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville. In the hours after the shooting, Drake said of the shooter that officials feel that she identifies as trans, but were still in the initial investigation into all of that and if it actually played a role into this incident.. Drake said Hale was a former student at the school. "It's ripping our communities apart ripping at the very soul of our nation. Nashville Mayor John Cooper, MNPD chief John Drake, Metro Council member Russ Pulley and State Rep. Rev. Hannah McDonald, a reporter for News Channel 5, told viewers her mother-in-law worked at the school but was on a break when the shooting happened. We have to do more to stop gun violence ripping our communities apart, the president said at the White House. The attacker, identified as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, was a former student at The Covenant School who broke in Monday morning by shooting the glass from a door. Authorities were speaking to the shooters father, he added. We have to do more to protect our schools so they aren't turned into prisons. NASHVILLE, Tennessee, March 27 (Reuters) - A heavily armed 28-year-old fatally shot three children and three adult staffers on Monday at a private Christian school the suspect once attended in. NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The shooter who killed six people, including three children, at a Nashville elementary school Monday had detailed maps of the facility, considered another target and left. "If you have the power to make change and instead sit back and remain complicit, do better.". "This is the ultimate crime, when schoolchildren and caregivers are the victims of senseless gun violence," Glenn Funk, Davidson County District Attorney General, said in a newsconference. "In this moment, we remember that we are one Nashville, regardless of our school affiliation.". We are also making sure to address any emotional issues our personnel may be facing, Pleasant said. Police also confirmed that there is no motive at this timethe previously found manifesto in Hales vehicle on scene had talks about the school, a map, a drawing of entry points and assaults that would take place., Drake added that no specific student or faculty member was targeted in the attack. "We have to do more to stop gun violence," Biden said. How do we stop the next one? The Woodmont Christian Church will be organizing a fund for the affected families as a way to help with counseling costs. A few people trickled in to lay flowers against the stone wall where the memorial was set up. Bill Lee and Nashville Mayor John Cooper about the shooting. "Something in me was like, 'No, you need to help. Im just in shock and disbelief, wrote Hill. But maybe theres something for the general public to understand behavioral-wise why they did this.. Nine states have banned them. The Covenant school has about 209 students from pre-school through sixth grade and 42 staff members, Aaron said. Floral tributes are left at a memorial outside the entrance to the Covenant School on Wednesday. Drake said that had it been reported to police that Hale was suicidal, MNPD would have intervened. Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, said on Twitter that her office stands "ready to assist" those affected by the shooting. But Peak never arrived home on Monday. She wrote on Twitter:"My office is in contact with federal, state, & local officials, & we stand ready to assist. For some, that moment never came. Dieckhaus was a third grader at the Covenant School and her sister, a fifth grader, is a member of the disciples class at the church. ", 'This is shattering'Nashville officials respond to The Covenant School shooting. Is the clue in her writings and ramblings how to stop it? He commended MNPD's swift response, and called for Congress to take action to pass a ban on assault weapons. At 10:13 a.m., Hale fired the first shot inside the school. We will respond with resilience to these events, but we are called to be a little more intentional and specific in how we cope with them, Gorter said. The heavily armed person killed during a deadly school shooting in Nashville left behind a manifesto and map outlining their intentions, police said. Clarification: This article was updated. John Oliver Argues for Gun Control in Wake of Nashville School Mass Shooting: "Change Is Long Overdue". The latest in an epidemic of deadly mass gun violence that has come to routinely terrorize even the most cherished of U.S. institutions unfolded on a warm spring morning at The Covenant School, whose students consist mostly of elementary school-age children. After the talk, they left the school. Hale's social media content will also be analyzed. Police also said . According to the K-12 School Shooting Database resource, there have been at least 89 instances of gun violence at kindergarten through 12th-grade schools or during school activities in the US this year. The Covenant School is a private school founded in 2001 that serves students inpre-kindergarten through sixth grade, according to its website. The shooter wore a black vest over a white T-shirt, camouflage pants and a backwards red baseball cap. Joseph Giacalone, a retired sergeant with the New York City Police Department and an adjunct professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the need for caution becomes even more crucial when the suspect was known to have a mental illness and is no longer living. appreciated. Biden ordered the American flag at the White House to be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims. Woman who survived Highland Park shooting makes plea in Nashville, First lady Jill Biden responds to Nashville mass shooting, wounded two faculty members at a high school in Denver, Revealing trends, details and anguish of every US event since 2006, the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, shared through tears a story of Evelyn Dieckhaus, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. And I know hes the kind of guy that would do that. I woke up this morning with a very familiar feeling, and I recognize that today many Tennesseans are feeling the exact same way the emptiness, the lack of understanding, the desperate desire for answers, and the desperate need for hope.". A woman whose mother teaches at the school told reporters they texted as the attack took place. Police quickly worked through the first floor clearing classrooms and encouraging each other to move faster. 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. Who are the Nashville officers who killed the Covenant School shooting suspect?
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