Six People Died Including Three Children As A Result Of The Shooting At Tennessee School: Perpetrators Allegedly Hatedamers

Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Tony Webster)

JAKARTA - A fully armed suspect shot dead three children and three adults at a private Christian school in the US capital Tennessee on Monday, before police killed the perpetrators, authorities said.

"The motive was not immediately identified, but the suspect had drawn a detailed school map, including entry points into the building, and left a "manifesto" and other writings being examined by investigators," Police Chief John Drake told reporters. March 28.

The Nashville Metropolitan Police Department received a call at 10:13 a.m. about the shooting at the school. Officers arriving at the scene reported hearing gunshots coming from the second floor of the building, police spokesman Don Aaron told reporters.

Two officers from a team consisting of five people shot the perpetrator in the lobby area and the suspect was pronounced dead at 10:27 am.

"The police response is very fast," said Aaron.

Drake said the suspect, armed with a semi-automatic rifle and two pistols, was previously a student at the school.

The attacker entered the building by shooting through the side door window, the police chief said.

The dead victims were identified asctional Dieckhaus, Hallie Scrugs, and William Kinney, all three aged 9 years. Then the school staff consisted of Mike Hill (61) who was a school guard, Cynthia Peak (61) a substitute teacher and totaling Koonce (60) who was listed on the vabungant website as principal.

This latest incident occurred in the warm summer morning at the Covant School, most of which were elementary school-age children.

Drake identified the suspect as Audrey Elizabeth Hale (28), a woman resident of the Nashville area. The police chief said the suspect was identified as transgender but did not provide further clarity.

Then, the Tennessean newspaper quoted a police spokesman as saying Hale used his pronoun. Hale uses a men's pronoun on LinkedIn's page which lists the latest work in graphic design and grocery delivery.

Drake said his party was drafting a theory that sparked the shooting and would announce it as soon as possible. However, the suspect is said to have no previous criminal history.

In a separate interview then with NBC News, Drake said investigators believed the shooting was caused by the hatred of the arrested suspect, because he was required to attend the school.

The police chief did not specify the alleged nature of the hatred, or whether it had anything to do with the suspect's gender identity or Christian orientation at the school. Drake said the school was chosen to be attacked, but the victims were targeted at random.

Separately, Nashville Mayor John Cooper expressed sympathy for the victims and wrote on social media his city "joined a long list of feared communities to experience school shootings."

The Covant School, which was founded in 2001, is a service from the Presbyterian Covant Church in Green Hills, Nashville, with about 200 students, according to the school's website. The school serves preschool students up to sixth grade and holds an active shooter training program in 2022, according to a WTVF-TV report.