Nashville School Shooter Identified as 28-Year-Old Woman

Updated from Fox News…

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.

“We have also determined that there were maps drawn of the school in detail of surveillance entry points. At one point she was a student at that school,” he said. “There was a vehicle nearby that gave us a clue as to who she was.”

<center> ———————————————————————– </center>

The original story is below.

MNPD said three children and three staff members were killed

A female shooter, now reported to be a 28-year-old Nashville resident, killed three children and three adult staff members at The Covenant School in Nashville Monday morning, Metro Nashville Police Department Public Affairs Director Don Aaron said in a press conference around noon. The shooter was killed by MNPD, Aaron added. Officials expect to provide more details in a conference later today.

Calls of the shooting occurred around 10:13 a.m. and MNPD alongside Metro Nashville Fire Department (MNFD) responded to the scene immediately, according to officials from both agencies.

“Officers entered the first story of the school, began clearing it, they heard shots coming from the second level and immediately went to the gunfire,” he said. “When the officers got to the second level, they saw a shooter, a female, who was firing. The officers engaged her. She was fatally shot by responding police officers.”

The identity of the shooter was unknown as of the midday press conference, Aaron said, but “she does appear to be in her teens.” MNPD soon after posted on Twitter the woman had been identified as the 28-year-old instead of a teen.

Aaron said she gained entry through a side entrance and had two assault-type rifles as well as a handgun. He said on a typical day there would be approximately 209 students in the building and approximately 40-50 staff members.

Kendra Loney, Public Information Officer for MNFD, said crews are dispatched to active shooter situations for medical support and rescue task force response to go in alongside MNDP. She said fire department members went in as soon as it was safe to do so and attempted to provide life-saving efforts for survivors.

“Our crews were able to be on scene to pull out those that had viable signs of life, those that were still showing the option to be saved,” Loney said. “We did make transport of three individuals, three children, and two adults that were taken from the scene.”

She added one police officer suffered a hand injury, but no additional first responders were injured in the response.

She said faculty and students were escorted out of the building to a nearby reunification center. She said fire attempted to mitigate anyone seeing the scene, but “we are sure they heard the chaos that was surrounding this.”

She added mental health professionals were on-scene for students, staff, and families affected by the shooting.

MNPD is working to identify the seven individuals killed in the shooting at the school.

There was not a School Resource Officer from MNPD present at the school, Aaron said, as it “is a church that operates a private school.”

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has not yet responded to a request for comment, but said on Twitter they were assisting in the situation.