NASHVILLE –
Police said six people were killed at a small Christian school south of downtown Nashville on Monday after a gunman opened fire inside a building housing about 200 students.
Police received a call about an active shooter at Covenant School – a Presbyterian school – around 10:15 a.m., authorities said about 15 minutes after that call to police. , the shooter is dead. The remaining students were taken to a safe location to be reunited with their parents.
Here’s what we know and don’t know about the shooting:
HOW MUCH HAS BEEN KILLED?
Nashville police said six people, including three students, were killed. The victims were identified as Cynthia Peak, 61 years old; Katherine Koonce, 60 years old; Mike Hill, 61 years old; and Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all 9 years old. Police officers also killed the shooter.
The Covenant School’s website, established in 2001, lists Katherine Koonce as the school’s principal. Her LinkedIn profile says she has led the school since July 2016. Peak is the substitute teacher and Hill is the custodian, according to investigators.
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WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT NASHVILLE SHOOTER?
The police gave unclear information about the gender of the shooter. Over the course of hours, police identified the shooter as a 28-year-old woman and eventually Audrey Hale. Later, at a news conference late in the afternoon, the sheriff said that Hale was transgender. After the news conference, police spokesman Don Aaron declined to elaborate on how Hale was identified.
Police said Hale was once a student at the school, but it’s not clear if Hale currently has any connections to the school or is related to anyone at the school at the time of the shooting. Police said the shooter made a detailed map of the school and conducted surveillance of the building before carrying out the massacre.
Police said Hale had two “assault style” weapons and a pistol when Hale fired through the front door into the building. Police say at least two of them are believed to have been obtained legally in the Nashville area. Investigators found a sawed-off shotgun, a second handgun and other unidentified evidence during a search of Hale’s home.
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HOW HAVE THE NASHVILLE FIRE KILLED?
Aaron, a police spokesman, said a team of five Nashville police officers entered the school after the initial call. While clearing students and staff on the first floor, they heard gunshots on the second floor.
Two of the officers opened fire in response and killed Hale around 10:27 a.m., police said.
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DO WE KNOW THE MOTIVATION?
Police said investigators were sent to the shooter’s home shortly after Hale was killed. Police said Hale had a map of the school with a planned route to the shooting, and officers found the posts.
No motive has been confirmed by police, nor is it clear if Hale was trying to target any specific people in the shooting.
Sheriff John Drake said officers had found posts detailing plans to attack schools and other likely sites. He said in an interview with NBC News that investigators believe the shooter was “a little upset about having to go to that school.”
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HOW MUCH SCHOOL FROM COLUMBINE HAS BEEN PICKING?
There have been 15 mass shootings at schools or universities in the United States since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. Mass shootings are defined as more than four deaths, regardless of the perpetrator. , according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University, in addition to other AP reports:
The data shows that of those 15 shootings, 175 people died.
