(Update: 23:42ET): Moving swiftly as they investigate Monday’s mass shooting by female-to-male transgender Audrey Hale that killed three children and three adults at a Christian school, Metro Nashville Police have posted video of Hale shooting her way into the building and then methodically stalking around within it.
At an earlier press conference, police said the 28-year-old, who’d reportedly attended the school herself, had left behind a “manifesto” and maps which noted security camera locations, doorways and other details.
“We have a manifesto,” said Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake. “We have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this date, the actual incident. We have a map drawn out of how all this was gonna take place.”
As for motive, Drake said, “There’s right now a theory that we may be able to talk about later, but it’s not confirmed.” Drake appeared to hint that the shooter’s transgender identity factored into her motive.
REPORTER: “Do you have any reason to believe that how she identifies has any motive for targeting the school?”
NASHVILLE POLICE: “There is some theory to that.”
REPORTER: “So was this a targeted attack?”
NASHVILLE POLICE: “It was.” pic.twitter.com/NDfm9XBCcV
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 27, 2023
Drake said Hale considered targeting multiple locations. However — significantly at a time of intense debate over proposals for armed school security and/or armed teachers and staff — Hale opted out of the other potential target because it was too well-protected:
“It was the only school that was targeted. There was another location that was mentioned, but because of a threat assessment by the suspect of too much security, they decided not to,” said Drake.
Hale, who had no prior criminal record, arrived in a Honda Fit with a “Thrasher” logo sticker associated with a skateboarding magazine, and selected a parking space in the lot rather than simply driving up to the doors.
Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, drove this Honda Fit to the Covenant Church/school campus this morning and parked. MNPD detectives searched it and found additional material written by Hale. pic.twitter.com/ftGX74ecKr
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 28, 2023
Hale then overcame the school’s locked doors by shooting her way in…
Hale entered the Covenant building after shooting out the glass of these doors. pic.twitter.com/EC5e7bA5dN
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 28, 2023
Video shows the glass doors shattering under gunfire before Hale — dressed in sneakers, camo-pattern pants, a white t-shirt, a black tactical vest and and a red baseball-style hat worn backwards — proceeds to roam throughout the building, opening various doors as fire alarm strobe lights flash. The released video does not show any victims.
Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church/School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building. She was armed with 2 assault-type guns and a 9 millimeter pistol. pic.twitter.com/mIk2pDmCwQ
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 28, 2023
Police say Hale fired upon responding officers from a second-story window. Unlike the infamous Uvalde police, Nashville cops promptly entered, made contact and shot Hale dead in an upstairs lobby — just 14 minutes after the first 911 call.
As officers responded to the Covenant campus, Hale fired on arriving police vehicles from a 2nd story window. pic.twitter.com/7JiLdCHhF1
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 28, 2023
Police also released photos of Hale’s weapons. They appear to be a Lead Star Arms “Grunt” AR, a KelTec SUB2000 pistol-caliber carbine, and a 9mm Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ pistol. The EZ version features a slide that’s promoted as being easier for women and others with lesser hand strength to manipulate — an ironic choice for a would-be man.
The weapons were adorned with stickers. Most of them are cartoonish designs, but one appears to have the word “HELLFIRE” written with black marker on red tape. Police said at least two of the firearms were purchased legally and locally.
Hale fired a number of rounds inside the Covenant Church/School building. She was armed with these 3 guns and significant ammunition. pic.twitter.com/3LYOU2r0sh
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 28, 2023
Later searching Hale’s residence, police found two shotguns, one of which a source described as “sawed-off.” Meanwhile, President Biden, true to form, baselessly declared the shooter was armed with “two AK-47s”:
BIDEN: “The shooter in this situation had two assault weapons and a pistol. Two AK-47s.”
According to reports, that is false. The shooter did not have two AK-47s. pic.twitter.com/awvtrVsbYV
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 27, 2023
In an utter disregard for leftist sensitivities, Nashville PD’s tweets refer to Hale using “she” and “her.” However — as this is written — even NBC News is using female pronouns in its principal article on the incident — almost as if to strip Hale of her trans identity, either as punishment for her murder spree or to shield the trans movement from the stain of her monstrous crime.
Police identified the six fatalities as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age 9, Cynthia Peak, age 61, Katherine Koonce, age 60, and Mike Hill, age 61.
Hale was an illustrator and graphic designer who’d also worked for a grocery deliver company. “She just always was a kind of quiet girl but was very serious about her work,” Steve LaSuer, an instructor at Nashville’s Nossi College of Art and Design — which Hale attended — told the New York Times. “It’s blown me away.”
* * *
(Update: 1730ET): The shooter has been identified as female-to-male transgender individual Audrey Hale, according to Nashville PD.
Police confirm that Nashville shooter Audrey Hale identifies as transgender pic.twitter.com/Sv4VtjOhaT
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 27, 2023
BREAKING: Audrey E. Hale, the 28-year-old woman who identifies as he/him and uses the name “Aiden,” is identified as the now-deceased suspect who shot up a Christian school in Tennessee, killing 6, including 3 children. The killings follow the state banning the medical… pic.twitter.com/Sp4RfGwcUj
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) March 27, 2023
3 children and 3 adults were killed today by Transgender shooter Audrey Hale also known as Aiden Hale, age 28 DOB: 3/24/95.
This is Audrey Hale/ Aiden Hale who used HE/HIM pronouns.
Aiden was an artist, drawing Kids and LGBT themed artworks #Nashville #AudreyHale pic.twitter.com/501gCndy10
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) March 27, 2023
* * *
A 28-year-old woman carried out a mass shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville on Monday, resulting in the deaths of at least three children and three staff members. The Tennessean reported that police killed the female shooter.
UPDATE: 3 students & 3 adult staff members from Covenant School were fatally shot by the active shooter, who has now been identified as a 28-year-old Nashville woman.
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 27, 2023
Don Aaron, a spokesperson for the Metro Nashville Police Department, said the female shooter entered The Covenant School on Burton Hills Boulevard with two rifles and a handgun.
“The police department response was swift.
“Officers entered the first story of the school and begin clearing it. They heard shots coming from the second level; they immediately went to the gunfire,” Aaron said.
BREAKING ⚡️ US: Three children and three staff members were killed at a private Christian school in Nashville by a female shooter, authorities said.
The suspect, who had multiple weapons, also died after being shot by policepic.twitter.com/csUDlUVrup
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) March 27, 2023
The Tennessean said a five-member police team shot the woman around 1030 ET in the second-floor lobby of the school.
Authorities report that the shooter was a former student who resided in the Nashville metro area.
BREAKING: Local law enforcement says the Nashville Christian School shooter was a 28-year-old female, former student who lived in the area. pic.twitter.com/Fxv0Ar2Hab
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 27, 2023
*Developing
Tyler Durden
Tue, 03/28/2023 – 05:55
