LIVE COVERAGE Updated 18 minutes ago

Nashville school shooting live

updates: Six killed, including three
children
A 28-year-old Nashville resident with two "assault-style"
rifles and a pistol was killed by police at The Covenant
School, a private Christian school.


TAP TO
 UNMUTE

   SAVE

Updated March 27, 2023, 7:29 PM EDT

By NBC News

What to know about the shooting at The

Covenant School:
Three 9-year-old students and three adults
were killed, and police killed the shooter

The school has students from preschool

through sixth grade, and on a normal day
about 200 students and 40 staff members
are on campus

Police described the shooter as a 28-year-

old former student who had detailed maps
of the school

18m ago / 7:29 PM EDT

A sense of 'resentment' might have fueled

deadly attack

David K. Li

Nashville police chief speaks on suspect of deadly

elementary school shooting


Nashville police said a sense of "resentment" might

have played a role in a 28-year-old's deadly attack on
a former school.

"There's some belief that there was some resentment

for having to go to that school," Police Chief John
Drake told Lester Holt of NBC News. "Don't have all
the details to that just yet and that's why this incident
occurred."

While Hale might have targeted Covenant School,

Drake stopped short of saying the shooter was going
after any specific individuals.

"She targeted random students in the school ...

whoever she came in contact with, she fired rounds,"
Drake said.

SHARE THIS -
  

32m ago / 7:15 PM EDT

14 minutes after 911 call, shooter was dead,

officials say
Tim Stelloh

Officials in Tennessee praised the quick response

time of police officers responding to a report of a
school shooter on Monday morning, saying it took 14
minutes from the time someone dialed 911 until the
suspect was dead.

After the 10:13 a.m. 911 call, officers entered the first
floor of The Covenant School, part of the Covenant
Presbyterian Church 9 miles southwest of Nashville,
and began clearing it, Don Aaron, a Nashville police
spokesman told reporters.

A five-member team heard shots from the school’s

second floor and “immediately went to the gunfire,”
he said. They found a suspect armed with two
“assault-type rifles” and a handgun, Aaron said.

By 10:27, the shooter was dead, Aaron said.

“Let us praise our first responders,” Nashville Mayor

John Cooper said during a news conference. “14
minutes, I believe, under fire, running to gunfire.”

Nashville police chief John Drake said authorities plan

to release video showing the officers' response.

SHARE THIS -
  

2h ago / 5:52 PM EDT

Suspect had maps of school and shot through

door to get in

Dennis Romero

The suspect in Monday's deadly school shooting was

a former student who had maps of The Covenant
School, Nashville Police Chief John Drake said.

Audrey Hale, 28, who police said was a transgender

woman, had conducted surveillance and prepared
for the attack with detailed maps, officials said. Police
said the shooter had a manifesto, the contents of
which were not released.

Hale had attended the school as a child; police did

not detail which grades.

Hale shot through a door to gain access to the school,

Drake said.

The shooter, Drake said, was “prepared for a

confrontation with law enforcement” and “prepared
to do more harm."

The shooter was armed with two semi-automatic AR-

15-style rifles, as well as a handgun. At least two of
the three guns had been purchased lawfully, Drake
said.

Nashville shooter had 'detailed' maps of school at

home, say police


SHARE THIS -
  

2h ago / 5:46 PM EDT

Covenant School serves students from

preschool through sixth grade
Tim Stelloh

The Tennessee Christian school where a mass

shooting Monday left six people dead, including
three children, serves students from preschool
through sixth grade.

On a typical day, roughly 209 students attend The

Covenant School, a Nashville police spokesman said.

The school, which is 9 miles southwest of downtown

Nashville, was founded in 2001 as a ministry of
Covenant Presbyterian Church, according to the
school’s website.

The school has 33 teachers, giving it an 8-to-1 teacher-

student ratio. The top administrator, Katherine
Koonce, was among those killed.

SHARE THIS -
  

AD BY ROCKSTAR ENERGY

ROCKSTAR ENERGY X ANGUS

CLOUD
Facebook
Sharing a passion for finding out what’s next,
Rockstar Energy has partnered with actor and…
pop culture phenomenon, Angus Cloud.
Twitter
SEE MORE

Email

3h ago / 5:07 PM EDT

Head
SMS
of The Covenant School among the 6
victims
Print
Dennis Romero

TheWhatsapp
leader of the school where a woman opened fire
and fatally shot six people was among those killed
Monday, according to a list of victims released by
Reddit
police.

Katherine Koonce, 60, is listed on The Covenant

Pocket SKIP TO CONTENT
School's website as "head of school."

Three 9-year-old students were killed: Evelyn

Flipboard
Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney,
according to police. The other adult victims were
Pinterest
Cynthia Peak and Mike Hill, both 61.

SHARE THIS -
Linkedin   

3h ago / 4:41 PM EDT

Suspected shooter identified

Dennis Romero

The suspected Nashville Christian school shooter is

Audrey Hale, 28, a resident of Nashville, three law
enforcement officials briefed on the matter said.

Authorities
SHARE & said the shooter killed three children and
SAVE —
three adults at the private school Monday morning
and was killed by responding police officers.

Hale's background was not immediately known and

investigators are investigating a possible motive.

SHARE THIS -
  

3h ago / 4:29 PM EDT

Graphic: Female school shooters since Sandy

Hook
Jasmine Cui and JoElla Carman

Of the 57 shootings that fit NBC News’ school

shooting criteria since January 2013, six have
involved a female shooter.

According to the Metropolitan Nashville Police

Department, Monday's shooter carried two assault-
style rifles and a handgun. Of the previous five school
shootings with a female shooter, handguns were the
primary weapon in four. The gun was not known in
the other.

SHARE THIS -
  

4h ago / 3:28 PM EDT

Vehicle found by school gave police clues to

shooter's identity

Mirna Alsharif

A vehicle found near The Covenant School gave

police clues as to who the shooter was, according to
Metro Nashville Chief of Police John Drake.

"But as stated, that investigation is still ongoing,"

Drake said, not elaborating further.

Police have not identified the shooter or the victims

in Monday's shooting yet.

Police are also investigating how the shooter, a 28-

year-old white woman, gained access to the school.

"There was a door that was entered. All doors were

locked, to our understanding, and how exactly she
got in, at this point, is still under investigation," Drake
said.

The school did have a school shooter protocol,

according to Drake.

SHARE THIS -
  

5h ago / 3:10 PM EDT

Shooter appears to have been a former

student, police say

Mirna Alsharif

The 28-year-old shooter who killed three students

and three adults at The Covenant School in Nashville
appears to have been a former student there, police
said.

"At one point she was a student at that school, but

unsure what year," Metro Nashville Police
Department Chief John Drake said.

The chief said the families of all six victims had been
notified but didn't share any identifying information.

"Right now I will refrain from saying the ages, other

than to say I was literally moved to tears to see this
and the kids as they were being ushered out of the
building,” Drake said.

Police say Nashville school shooter was a former

student


SHARE THIS -
  

5h ago / 3:00 PM EDT

Attorney general briefed on Nashville

shooting

Michael Kosnar

Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed

on the shooting, a spokesperson said. The FBI and
ATF are on the scene to assist local law enforcement.

SHARE THIS -
  

5h ago / 2:56 PM EDT

Biden calls shooting 'a family's worst

nightmare,' says gun violence is 'ripping the
soul of this nation'

Rebecca Shabad

In response to the Nashville shooting, President Joe

Biden said Monday that it's "heartbreaking, a family's
worst nightmare."

At a White House event hosting a summit for women-

owned small businesses, Biden commended the local
police, who he said responded "incredibly swiftly,
within minutes, to end the danger."

"We have to do more to stop gun violence. It's ripping

our communities apart, ripping the soul of this
nation, ripping at the very soul of the nation," Biden
said. "And we have to do more to protect our schools
so they aren't turned into prisons."

Biden said that the shooter had two assault weapons

and a pistol and said, "I call on Congress again to pass
my assault weapons ban. It's about time that we begin
to make some more progress."

'A family's worst nightmare': Biden comments on

school shooting in Nashville


SHARE THIS -
  

5h ago / 2:27 PM EDT

Biden to address Nashville school shooting,

reiterate call on Congress to take action,
White House says

Rebecca Shabad

President Joe Biden is expected to address the

Nashville Christian school shooting on Monday and to
reiterate his call on Congress to take legislative
action, White House press secretary Karine Jean-
Pierre said at the daily briefing.

Jean-Pierre called the shooting "devastating,"

"heartbreaking," and "unacceptable." She highlighted
executive actions Biden has taken so far to address
the gun violence epidemic and legislation he signed
into law, but she said more must be done.

"How many more children have to be murdered

before Republicans in Congress will step up and act
to pass the assault weapons ban, to close loopholes in
our background check system or to require the safe
storage of guns?" she said.

Jean-Pierre continued, "Our children should be able

to go to school feeling safe, feeling protected. People
should be able to go to the grocery stores feeling
safe."

'Heartbreaking': White House comments on

Nashville school shooting


SHARE THIS -
  

5h ago / 2:25 PM EDT

Nashville school shooter was engaged in

gunfire on the second floor

Mirna Alsharif

The Nashville school shooter, identified by officials as

a 28-year-old woman, was engaged in gunfire by
police on the second floor.

"Two MNPD officers who entered the building and

went to the sounds of gunfire engaged the shooter on
the second floor and fatally shot her," the Metro
Nashville Police Department tweeted.

The shooter was deceased by 10:27 a.m., according to

police spokesperson Don Aaron.

SHARE THIS -
  

5h ago / 2:24 PM EDT

Female active shooters are rare in the U.S.

Mirna Alsharif and Polly DeFrank

Female active shooters are rare in the U.S., according

to data collected on the topic.

Approximately 17 active shootings have been carried

out by women in the country since 1979, according to
an NBC News tally. Seven of them, including
Monday's shooting at The Covenant School in
Nashville, were school shootings.

Before Monday, the most recent active shooting

conducted by a female was in May 2021, when a sixth
grader in Idaho pulled a gun out of her backpack and
shot two students and a custodian before a teacher
took the gun away. 

Suspected Nashville shooter is 'statistical

anomaly' as a female


SHARE THIS -
  

6h ago / 2:11 PM EDT

Nashville school shooter was a 28-year-old

woman, officials say

Mirna Alsharif

The shooter responsible for killing three students and

three adults at The Covenant School is a 28-year-old
Nashville woman, according to the Metropolitan
Nashville Police Department. The shooter is also
dead.

Officials previously said the shooter appeared to be a

teenager.

Nashville school shooter identified as 28-year-old

female


SHARE THIS -
  

6h ago / 1:54 PM EDT

Jill Biden: 'Our children deserve better'

Rebecca Shabad

At an event in Washington on Monday, first lady Jill

Biden spoke about the shooting at The Covenant
School in Nashville.

“While you’ve been in this room, I don’t know

whether you’ve been on your phones, but we just
learned about another shooting in Tennessee — a
school shooting — and I am truly without words," she
told the audience.

"And our children deserve better. And we stand, all of

us, we stand with Nashville in prayer," she added.