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3 children and 3 adults are

dead in a shooting at a
Christian school in
Nashville
Updated March 27, 2023 · 9:35 PM ET
By Joe Hernandez, James Doubek

School buses with children arrive at Woodmont Baptist Church to

be reunited with their families after a mass shooting at The
Covenant School on Monday in Nashville.
Seth Herald/Getty Images

Three children and three adults were

killed in a shooting at a private religious
school in Nashville, authorities said.

The shooter, who police said was a white

28-year-old from the Nashville area, was
shot dead by two officers. Police initially
identified the shooter as a woman but a
spokesperson later told WPLN's Alexis
Marshall that the shooter was assigned
female at birth and used he/him
pronouns.

The shooting occurred at The Covenant

School. The three children who died were
students, and the three adults who died
were staff members, Nashville police
spokesperson Don Aaron said in a press
briefing Monday.

Authorities identified the victims Monday

afternoon:

Evelyn Dieckhaus, age 9

Hallie Scruggs, age 9

William Kinney, age 9

Cynthia Peak, age 61

Katherine Koonce, age 60

Mike Hill, age 61

Koonce served as the head of the school,

according to the school's website.

The first call came in at 10:13 a.m. The

shooter "entered the school through a side
entrance and traversed her way from the
first floor to the second floor, firing
multiple shots," Aaron said.

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On Monday evening, Nashville police

posted photos of the scene. Police said the
shooter entered the building by shooting
out the glass in a door. Once on the second
floor, the shooter fired at arriving police
vehicles from a window.

The shooter had two assault-style rifles

and one pistol, authorities said, and the
shooting took place in a "lobby-type area"
in an upper part of the school. The shooter
was dead by 10:27 a.m., Aaron added. Two
of those guns were obtained legally, police
said.

Police said the shooter was a former

student but have not said anything about a
potential motive. On Monday afternoon,
police identified the shooter as Audrey
Hale of Nashville. Hale had no criminal
history.

Hale had multiple rounds of ammunition

and was "prepared for a confrontation
with law enforcement," Nashville Police
Chief John Drake said. He said the shooter
had maps drawn of the school and its
entry points.

Drake said the parents of the children who

were killed have been notified. "I was
literally moved to tears to see this and the
kids as they were being ushered out of the
building," he said earlier.

Children arrive at Woodmont Baptist Church to be reunited with

their families after a mass shooting at The Covenant School on
Monday in Nashville.
Seth Herald/Getty Images

At least five of the victims were

transported to emergency departments at
Vanderbilt University Medical Center. A
spokesperson for the hospital confirmed to
NPR that three children and two adults
sent to the hospital had died.

Aaron said he was not aware of any other

gunshot victims from the shooting. He
said a responding officer had a wound
from cut glass.

A reunification center for parents and

students was set up nearby with mental
health specialists available.

According to its website, The Covenant

School is a private school associated with
the Covenant Presbyterian Church serving
students from preschool through sixth
grade. On a regular day there would be
about 209 students and 42 staff members
at the school, Aaron said.

Politicians respond

This photo provided by the Metro Nashville Police Department

shows officers at an active shooter event that took place at The
Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, in Nashville,
Tenn., Monday.
Metro Nashville Police Department via AP

Mayor John Cooper said Nashville was

joining the "dreaded, long list" of cities
and towns that have suffered school
shootings.

"My heart goes out to the families of the

victims," Cooper said. "Our entire city
stands with you."

Tennessee state Rep. Bob Freeman, whose

district includes the school, said it was "an
unimaginable tragedy for the victims, all
the children, families, teachers, staff and
my entire community. I live around the
corner from Covenant and pass by it often.
I have friends who attend both church and
school there. I have also visited the church
in the past. It tears my heart apart to see
this," WPLN reported.

State Sen. Jeff Yarbro, who represents

Nashville, said on Twitter: "My heart
breaks for the families at Covenant. As a
parent, I both ache for them and rage with
them that fear of this kind of tragedy is
just accepted as just part of what it means
to raise kids these days."

President Biden called the Nashville

shooting "sick" and "heartbreaking,"
saying it was "a family's worst nightmare."

"We have to do more to stop gun violence.

It's ripping our communities apart,
ripping at the very soul of our nation," he
said at the White House.

According to the national Gun Violence

Archive website, there have been 130 mass
shootings in the U.S. this year.

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