Nashville school shooter transgender Audrey Hale: The 28-year-old former student who opened fire at school
Police found hand drawn maps of the Covenant school with detailed entry points at Hale’s residence in Nashville
Nashville police ID school shooter, say incident was a targeted attack
Nashville police identified the shooter who opened fire on Monday morning at The Covenant School as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, a transgender former student at the private Presbyterian school.
Three children and three adults were murdered in the shooting: Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9, Hallie Scruggs, 9, William Kinney, 9, Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61.
Nashville police chief John Drake identified Hale as a transgender woman on Monday afternoon, but Hale listed “He/Him” pronouns on a LinkedIn profile.
Audrey Hale was identified by police as the gunman who opened fire at the Covenant School on Monday morning, killing six people.
Metro Nashville Police Department release a video of 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale carrying out a shooting at Covenant school on March 27, 2023. (Metro Nashville Police Department)
Hale allegedly shot through a locked door around 10:13 a.m. to gain entry to the school while armed with two rifles and a handgun, then climbed the stairs to the second floor and opened fire.
Two Nashville police officers entered the school and went to the sounds of gunfire, where they fatally shot Hale around 10:27 a.m., according to police.
Drake said that a nearby vehicle gave investigators clues to the shooter’s identity.
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Hale’s home address is about three miles away from the Covenant School, according to public records. The FBI, ATF, and local police cordoned off that home with crime scene tape on Monday afternoon.
Investigators found a “manifesto” and other writings that they are looking into as they search for a motive.
Hand drawn maps of the school with detailed entry points were also located at the residence.
A LinkedIn profile and personal website that appear to be affiliated with Hale describe her as a graphic designer who creates logos for businesses.
She graduated from Nossi College of Art & Design with a degree in illustration and graphic design last year, the school confirmed.
“While at our school, she was a talented artist and a good student,” Nossi College of Art & Design President Cyrus Vatandoost told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, to the victims and their families and to our city.”
The Covenant School, which was founded in 2001, caters to pre-school through 6th grade students and is located southwest of downtown in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood. It wasn’t immediately clear what years Hale attended the school. source
Nashville school shooting: 6 killed including 3 students, shooter dead
A 28-year-old woman who was a former student at the Nashville Christian school was identified as the shooter
A shooting at a Tennessee private Christian grade school left three students and three adults dead, including the head of the school, Monday and the shooter was killed by police, authorities said.
The victims were killed in the attack at the Covenant School, authorities said. Nashville police say officers engaged with and killed the shooter, identified as a 28-year-old female carrying two “assault-type rifles” and a handgun.
The shooter was identified as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a Nashville resident, who identified as a transgender woman. Investigators were investigating a home connected to her. Nashville police Chief John Drake said Hale possibly prepared for the shooting, including having written a manifesto.
Nashville police respond to a shooting at Covenant School in Tennessee. (Metro Nashville Police Department)
Law enforcement officers lead children away from the scene of a shooting at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday March 27, 2023. (Jozen Reodica via AP)
Police cordon off an area after reports of a shooting at The Covenant School, Nashville, Tennessee on Monday, March 27, 2023. (Emily Zanotti/Fox News Digital)
Police say the shooter entered the building through a side door and fired shots before moving to the second floor, where Hale was confronted by responding officers. They don’t believe she was wearing any body armor, authorities said.
A search of a Honda Fit driven by Hale to the school campus yielded “additional material,” police said. Hale also allegedly fired at responding police vehicles from a second-story window.
An image of a windshield that was shot at by Audrey Hale as police officers arrived to the school campus, police said. (Nashville Police Department)
Hale was armed with two AR-style weapons, including a rifle and pistol, and a handgun. Two of the weapons may have been purchased legally in the Nashville area, Drake said. Investigators were probing a possible theory for a motive but did not disclose any details.
Officials at the medical center say three young students were transported to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with gunshot wounds. All three were pronounced dead after arrival. The three more adults were also pronounced dead following the attack. All three were staff at the school.
A Honda Fit driven by Audrey Hale to the Covenant School has “additional material,” police said. (Nashville Police Department)
The victims were identified by police as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age 9, Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and 61-year-old Mike Hill. Koonce was the head of school at Covenant, according to the school’s website.
“My heart breaks with news of the school shooting at The Covenant School this morning,” Rev. Mark Spalding of the Diocese of Nashville said in a statement. Let us pray for the victims, their families, and the Covenant Presbyterian community.”
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department Assistant Chief Dwayne Greene speaks to the media regarding a shooting at The Covenant School, Nashville, Tennessee on Monday, March 27, 2023. (Emily Zanotti/Fox News Digital)
“We are responding to an active aggressor at 33 Burton Hills Blvd Covenant School. We can confirm we have multiple patients,” the Nashville Fire Department said Monday. “Parents coming to the school should go to 20 Burton Hills at this time, this is an active scene,” the statement continued.
The Metro Nashville PD confirmed the shooter’s death in a statement, adding that the school was already working on reunifying parents and children a safe distance away from the Burton Hills Blvd the school is on.
“An active shooter event has taken place at Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, on Burton Hills Dr. The shooter was engaged by MNPD and is dead. Student reunification with parents is at Woodmont Baptist Church, 2100 Woodmont Blvd.,” the department wrote in a statement.
The only reported injury following the attack was an officer who suffered a glass wound to his hand.
The entrance to Covenant Presbyterian Church, which hosts the Covenant School, where police responded to a mass shooting. (Emily Zanotti/Fox News Digital)
Police cordon off an area after reports of a shooting at The Covenant School, Nashville, Tennessee on Monday, March 27, 2023. (Emily Zanotti/Fox News Digital)
Police cordon off an area after reports of a shooting at The Covenant School, Nashville, Tennessee on Monday, March 27, 2023. (Emily Zanotti/Fox News Digital )
The Nashville branch of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has also deployed agents to assist the MNPD in responding to the attack.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper released a statement regarding the attack on Monday.
“In a tragic morning, Nashville joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting,” he wrote. “My heart goes out to the families of the victims. Our entire city stands with you. As facts continue to emerge, I thank our first responders and medical professionals.”
David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said his agency is assisting local authorities.
Hale entered the school after shooting out the glass doors, police said. (Nashville Police Department)
“I know there are people who will criticize us for prayers but that’s the way we do it in the south.”
Other Tennessee lawmakers were quick to offer their condolences and support following Monday’s attack. The state’s senators, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, both released statements mourning the tragedy and praising law enforcement.
“Devastated and heartbroken about the tragic news at Covenant School,” Hagerty tweeted Monday. “I’m grateful to law enforcement and first responders for their heroic actions. I am monitoring the situation closely, and my office is in contact with local officials & available to anyone needing assistance.”
Police cordoned off the entrance to Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday following a mass shooting. (Emily Zanotti/Fox News Digital)
“Chuck & I are heartbroken to hear about the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville. My office is in contact with federal, state, & local officials, & we stand ready to assist,” Blackburn wrote in a statement. “Thank you to the first responders working on site. Please join us in prayer for those affected.”
First Lady Jill Biden also responded to the attack later Monday, saying we “stand with Nashville in prayer.”
“I am truly without words and our children deserve better,” she added.
On Monday, the FBI released data on active shootings for 2021. The agency said there were 61 such incidents that year with all but one committed by a male. The number of shootings was a 50% increase from 2020, the FBI said.
Nashville school shooting: Officers who took out suspected Covenant shooter identified
Audrey Hale, 28, is believed to have fatally shot six people at the Covenant School in Nashville
The two police officers who fatally shot the suspect of the Covenant School shooting in Nashville on Monday have been identified.
Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Officer Rex Englebert and Officer Michael Collazo fired at the 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale “and fatally wounded her,” bringing an end to a shooting that left six victims, including three children, dead.
Officer Englebert is a four-year MNPD veteran and Officer Collazo is a nine-year MNPD veteran.
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake identified the two officers who fatally shot suspected school shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale on March 27, 2023. (Metro Nashville Police Department)
According to the police chief, Hale fired at the officers who were arriving at the scene from windows on the second floor before they swept the building and found her in a common room.
“The first call to 911 about shots being fired in the building came in at 10:13 a.m. Officers rushed to the campus, made entry, and began clearing the building. Shots were heard coming from the second level. It was on the second floor, in a common area, that a team of officers encountered Hale shooting (she had been firing through a window at arriving police cars). Two members of an officer team fired on Hale and fatally wounded her,” Chief Drake said.
The responding officers were on the scene and neutralized the shooter within 15 minutes of the initial shots being fired by Hale.
The victims were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs, all age nine, as well as Mike Hill, 61, Cynthia Peak, 61, and Katherine Koonce, 60.
Suspected school shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, was shot dead by police on March 27, 2023. (Metro Nashville Police Department)
NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: 6 KILLED INCLUDING 3 STUDENTS, SHOOTER DEAD
Surveillance video released by MNPD showed Hale shot her way into the church/school through a set of glass doors at a side entrance of the building.
The MNPD also found writings belonging to Hale in a nearby vehicle that revealed her attack was “calculated and planned.”
Metro Nashville Police Department release a video of 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale carrying out a shooting at Covenant school on March 27, 2023. (Metro Nashville Police Department)
Other evidence, including a sawed-off shotgun and a second shotgun, was seized when officers executed a search warrant at Hale’s Brightwood Avenue home, police said.
The shooting remains under investigation and is being led by several MNPD components, with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the ATF and Tennessee Highway Patrol.
UPDATE TO Nashville school shooting: Audrey Hale and the making of a school shooter