"The police department response was swift," Aaron said. Its hard, because if I had been there, maybe I could have been shot.. The staffers wereKatherine Koonce, 60, identified on the Covenant website as "head of school"; substitute teacherCynthia Peak, 61;and custodian Mike Hill, 61. Investigators have stopped short of publicly assigning a motive to Mondays attack although Police Chief John Drake hinted that a sense of resentment could have fueled Hales assault. Police quickly worked through the first floor clearing classrooms and encouraging each other to move faster. Officers approached Hale, who was laying on the ground next to a wide window overlooking the parking lot. 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. Hale was a former student at The Covenant School, according to police. deadly shooting rampage at a local Christian elementary school, Officers Engelbert, Collazo seen in body cam video hailed as heroes: Nashville school shooting live updates, Tennessee Gov. Drake spoke to President Joe Biden, who was planning to reach out to the responding officers this week. Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality. You cant explain what you dont know.. Another former classmate of Hale's, Sonia Castelar, said their high school was geared toward the arts and drew a lot of different types of students. "It could have been far worse. Nashville school shooting suspect owned 7 legal guns, police say Biden repeats his call for meaningful gun control reform, the K-12 School Shooting Database resource, Three children and three adults killed in attack, Police killed attacker, 28, a former student. He added: Now I know therell be people who want to criticise us for prayers. Following extensive interviews with the parents of Audrey Hale, Metro Police were able to determine that Hale was under doctor care for an emotional disorder, and Hale's parents believed Hale did not have any firearms at the time of the shooting, Drake said Tuesday. The Covenant School students who died Monday were all 9 years old, andthe staff members were in their 60s. "We will continue to confront our grief. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. "Together, we trust in the power of Christ to draw near and give us the comfort and hope we desperately need.. Entry was gained by shooting through a door, Drake said, adding that maps had been drawn of the school, including entry points, and he said, We have a manifesto, some writings that were going over.. I was literally moved to tears to see this and the kids as they were being ushered out of the building, Drake said. "I was really impressed that with all that was going on, the danger, that somebody took control and said, 'Let's go, let's go, let's go,' and went in and just tried to end this situation,''Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said. NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Authorities released intense police body camera footage Tuesday from a deadly shooting rampage at a local Christian elementary school that killed three . "As Christians I think were always ready to help play our part in bringing back that which has been not unified to unification," Pastor Nathan Parker told The Tennessean. 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. Three children and two adults were takento Monroe Carell Jr. Childrens Hospital at Vanderbilt with gunshot wounds, and all fivewere pronounced dead there, said Craig Boerner, spokesperson forVanderbilt University Medical Center. Nashville, TN Police Chief calls for gun reform following Covenant Hale attended Covenant, a pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade private school, at around 10 years old, a former headmaster said. People were involuntarily trembling, said Dibble, whose children attend a different private school in Nashville. Drake praised the response time of responding officers during Monday's shooting, saying that by the time he arrived, officers were coming out bloody and assisting survivors. For an hour, city leaders, including Mayor James Maness, Police Chief James Hambrick and several church pastors, prayed and offered their condolences to The Covenant School and the entire Nashville community. Drake said the school was singled out for attack but the individual victims were targeted at random. Britney, a pediatric surgeon, pulled out her phone and answered a few text messages sitting in her car. Audrey Hale was already in the parking lot. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. The sixth victim was not taken to the hospital, police spokesman Don Aaron said. Nashville school shooting updates: Body cam cops called heroes - USA Today He said Hale left behind extensive writingsbut no motive for the shooting has been determined. Five officers from the MetroNashville Police Department initially descended upon The Covenant School after a call about an active shooter came in at 10:13 a.m., and by 10:27 a.m. the attacker had been gunned down,police said. Last year saw 303 such incidents, the highest of any year in the database, which goes back to 1970. Reacting in Washington to the latest school shooting, President Joe Biden urged the U.S. Congress again to pass tougher gun reform legislation. I was hoping this day would never, ever come here in the city, Drake said Monday, but we would never wait to make entry and go in and stop a threat, especially when it deals with our children.. But Peak never arrived home on Monday. A former student shot through the doors of a Christian elementary school Monday and killed three children and three adults after elaborately planning the massacre by drawing out a detailed map and conducting surveillance of the building, police said. They huddled together in groups with bowed heads and joined together in prayer. The 28-year-old who killed three children and three adults at a Christian school in Nashville last week fired 152 rounds, Nashville police said Monday, adding that while they have yet to determine a motive, the shooter planned the attack over a period of months and studied other mass murderers. I think thats a mischaracterization, personally, Rausch said in another interview with Pray In Jesus Name News. The shooter was named as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, and from Nashville. But in this case, Dunton said, if sharing it can allay any fears and help the public come to a greater understanding of what motivated the shooter and potentially prevent another tragedy from happening, then that serves a greater purpose. A police officer walks by an entrance to The Covenant School . Senior minister Clay Stauffer shared through tears a story of Evelyn Dieckhaus at the end of the service. "Keeping children safe is not political," she said. USA TODAY. Police identified . Biden said he has already spoken to several officials including Tennessee's two U.S. It's ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation.". He said he was one of several chaplains, psychologists, life coaches and clergy inside supporting the families. "We think (Monday's shooting) was targeted and planned," Drake said. She'd wear a ball cap sometimes," Hardcastle said. 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. Three other verified funds are also available for support relief on GoFundMe's website. Harold Love Jr. will speak at the event. Erik Ortiz reported from Nashville and David K. Li from Los Angeles County. In surveillance footage released by Nashville police late Monday, Hale is seendriving to the school. At one point, teachers were asked to raise their hands, and others placed their hands on them and prayed over them. "Like many of you, Ive experienced tragedy in my own life, and Ive experienced the day after that tragedy. Police recovered a manifesto at Hale's residence on Monday following the shooting that included "some writings" and a map of the attack and possible other targets, police said. April 19, 2023 / 10:02 AM / CBS/AP. "What happened at Covenant School was a tragedy beyond comprehension," Tennessee Gov. We love the Scruggs family and mourn with them over their precious daughter Hallie," Mark Davis, senior pastor at Park Cities Presbyterian Church, said in a statement. Nashville school shooter carefully plotted attack that killed six The shooter, Aaron said entered on the lower floor. (modern), Six people killed by shooter at school in Nashville video. This is another PCA church school just up the road. Its important they attend to the basic comfort need, be present with their children.. Everyone was kind to her, because they knew she might have been on the spectrum, and she was so kind, so people reciprocated that energy to her.. A former student killed three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in Nashville on Monday, armed with two assault-style weapons and a handgun after elaborately planning the massacre by drawing a detailed map and conducting surveillance of the building, police said. When speaking to News 2, Drake didn't shy away from what he believes needs to be done to reduce these crimes. The Nashville school shooter fell into an emotional spiral after the recent death of a close friend, ex-classmate says Friends of Audrey Hale, 28, still can't grasp how the "loving" teenager they. On March 27, 2023, a mass school shooting occurred at The Covenant School, a Presbyterian Church in America parochial elementary school in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee.Aiden Hale, a transgender man and former student of the school, killed three nineyearold children and three adults before being shot and killed by two Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD . Averianna Patton told WTVF-TVshe saw the message that Hale planned to die by suicide and that Patton would see it on the news. Two of the five officers on the floor opened fire on the shooter and killed Haleby 10:27 a.m., Aaronsaid. "My heart aches," she said. No, definitely not. NASHVILLE, Tenn. Authorities released intensepolice body camera footage Tuesday from a deadly shooting rampage at a local Christian elementary schoolthat killed three students and three staffers. A federal law enforcement source verified to NBC News that no direct motive has been established in the investigation and suggested that the driving force of the attack was similar to previous school shootings in which the assailant was drawn to other mass killers. She encouraged people to seek help or support if they need it, and to extend it to others. Within minutes, Nashville officers arrived at the scene and confronted Hale as the shooter was firing through a window at arriving police cars, per police. WHAT IS AN 'ASSAULT WEAPON'? The footage shows officers arriving at the school, announcing "Metro Police" as they enter the building and some classrooms withrifles raised as alarms ring out. Floral tributes are left at a memorial outside the entrance to the Covenant School on Wednesday. ", First lady Jill Biden commented on the attackduring heropening remarks at a National League of Cities event in Washington. A female suspect was also killed. Church staff passed out water, directed parents to the bathrooms and took out the trash. 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. Victims of The Covenant School shooting mourned at vigil in Nashville. The vigil will start at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at 1 Public Square Park in Nashville. What we know about Covenant School shooting in Nashville. When I heard the news on April 3, my first thought was of the traffic. Police initially identified the shooter as a female, but later said Hale was assigned female at birth and identified as a transgender man. 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. Nashville police say Covenant shooter planned for months, acted alone Because a church operates the school, no Nashville police officers were assigned to the building, Aaron said. Metro Nashville Police Department released body camera video showing officers arriving at The Covenant School where six were killed. About the four-minute mark, the video cuts to Collazo's body camera. 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.". We believe in prayer and we believe in the power of prayer. Drake said that Hale suffered from some type of emotional disorder although it is unknown exactly what. Bill Lee said he was "closely monitoring the tragic situation. ", Shooting renews gun control push:'How many more classrooms must become crime scenes?'. One woman dropped to her knees as she laid a bouquet of flowers down, burying her head in her hands and wiping tears from her eyes. The attacker in Monday's shooting purchased seven firearms legally and was under medical care for an unspecified "emotional disorder,''Drake said at a Tuesday news briefing. gaining entry to the building by firing through the buildings locked glass doors, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs. The shooter was . What we know about the Nashville school shooting "We are focused on loving our students, our families, our faculty and staff and beginning the process of healing.". Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for NBC News, based in Washington. She was so loving to everyone, and I think she might have just wanted to fit in, Hardcastle said. Zion Presbyterian Church Senior Pastor Paul Joiner, who spoke slowly, deliberately and somberly, said many of church members were close to fellow congregants at Covenant Presbyterian Church "up the road." NASHVILLE - Hundreds gathered Wednesday night for the citywide . The 28-year-old who killed three children and three adults at a Christian school in Nashville last week fired 152 rounds, Nashville police said Monday, adding that while they have yet to. Nashvilles chief of police, John Drake, told NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt that the shooter had planned to attack several different places, saying a manifesto belonging to the suspect indicates that there was going to be shootings at multiple locations, and the school was one of them. Nashville school shooting: Community comes together to mourn Drake later said one of the children was 8 and about to turn 9 but did not specify who. At the same time staff at Woodmont Baptist Church saw the news of the shooting, they learned they were going to also serve as the reunification site. But maybe theres something for the general public to understand behavioral-wise why they did this.. ", Adrienne Battle, director of Metro Nashville Public Schools, said she was "grieving today over the tragic murder of children and school staff right here in our community," calling the killings an "unimaginable loss of life. "How is this still happening? "Suspect down, suspect down," Collazo calls over the radio. Mitchell, a student board member, urged lawmakers and other government officials for action. The police department said officersRex Engelbert and Michael Collazo ended the attack, and they're being widely hailed for their courage in pursuing and taking down a heavily armed shooter. Neither of the two officers who fired on the shooter, Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo, had been in a similar situation, MNPD chief John Drake said Tuesday. NASHVILLE A 28-year-old from Nashville fatally shot three children and three adults on Monday at a private Christian elementary school, officials said, leaving behind writings and detailed. Sims' father declined to comment Wednesday. During one call, made at 10:13 a.m., a woman in an art room closet inside . We are also making sure to address any emotional issues our personnel may be facing, Pleasant said. Jeff Syracuse, a Nashville councilman who chairs the public health and safety committee, said he has questioned some of the conflicting reports surrounding the investigation. 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. "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.