7 dead, including transgender shooter, at Nashville Christian school

Three children and three adults died when a shooter opened fire Monday inside a Nashville-area Christian school. The shooter was also killed by police.

The attack happened at Covenant School in the area of Green Hills, reported local WKRN News.

The police first got an active shooter call at 10:13 a.m. and responded immediately to the shooting. 

Spokesman Don Aaron for the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said that by 10:27 a.m. the shooter was dead. 

Later in the day, MNPD identified the shooter as Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old Nashville resident and former student, who Police Chief John Drake said identifies as transgender.

Police also say they discovered a manifesto, other relevant writings, and a plan with a map of the school.

Police also identified the victims in a tweet: “The 6 victims fatally shot by the active shooter at Covenant School are identified as: Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age 9, Cynthia Peak, age 61, Katherine Koonce, age 60, and Mike Hill, age 61.”

One of the victims, Hallie Scruggs, is listed elsewhere as the daughter of Chad Scruggs, the pastor of the church associated with the school, Covenant Presbyterian. Koonce, also deceased, is listed as the head of school on Covenant’s faculty & staff page.

Aaron said that shooter was armed with at least two “assault-type” rifles and a handgun. 

Police said that the three children were transported to the hospital, but a spokesperson with Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt confirmed to WKRN that the children were pronounced dead from their injuries.

The shooting was first reported on social media at 10:30 a.m.

“We are responding to an active aggressor at 33 Burton Hills Blvd Covenant School,” announced the Nashville Fire Department via Twitter.  

“We can confirm we have multiple patients. Parents coming to the school should go to 20 Burton Hills at this time,” the fire department added.  

Aaron said that the shooter entered through the side door and ascended to the second floor, firing multiple shots. Upon arrival, police first cleared the first floor and encountered the shooter on the second floor, where Hale was shot dead

Parents were being directed to wait for the police to clear the scene, which the fire department still described as “active” at 10:30 a.m.

But a spokesperson from the Nashville Fire Department said that a response team was able to escort all of the students out of the school subsequently. 

Live video on Fox News showed dozens of police vehicles on the scene, including SWAT type vehicles. 

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is helping with the investigation at the request of the state’s Attorney General, said a tweet by TBI. 

Covenant describes itself as a “Christian Independent school” that educates children from preschool through the 6th grade.