London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

US Shooter Identified As Trans, Resented Going To Christian School: Cops

US Shooter Identified As Trans, Resented Going To Christian School: Cops

Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Hale had a detailed, hand-drawn map of the school showing various entry points, Drake said. Hale was armed with two assault-style weapons, one of them a rifle, as well as a 9mm pistol, authorities said.
Video released on Tuesday showed Nashville, Tennessee, police officers storming a private Christian grade school on Monday before confronting and fatally shooting an attacker who killed three 9-year-old students and three adult staff members.

The six minutes of harrowing footage, edited together from the body-worn cameras of two responding officers and released by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, showed officers clearing several first-floor classrooms before heading upstairs to the second floor as gunfire is heard.

The officers run down a hallway - past what appears to be a victim lying on the ground - and into a lounge area, where the suspect is seen dropping to the floor after being shot.

Police have identified the shooter as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 28-year-old former student at the Covenant School. Investigators are examining what they called a "manifesto" that Hale left behind, hoping to learn what motivated the latest in a long string of U.S. mass shootings.

Monday's violence marked the 90th school shooting – defined as any incident in which a gun is discharged on school property – in the U.S. this year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman. Last year saw 303 such incidents, the highest of any year in the database, which goes back to 1970.

During a previous press briefing, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Hale self-identified as transgender, although Drake offered no further clarity. Drake and other officials repeatedly referred to the suspect with female pronouns, though Hale used male pronouns on a LinkedIn page that listed recent jobs in graphic design and grocery delivery.

Drake said Hale had a detailed, hand-drawn map of the school showing various entry points, Drake said. Hale was armed with two assault-style weapons, one of them a rifle, as well as a 9mm pistol, authorities said.

Drake told NBC the manifesto indicated that Hale planned to carry out additional shootings at other locations. He said the Covenant School was singled out for attack but that the individual victims were targeted at random.

Investigators believe Hale harbored "some resentment for having to go to that school" as a child, Drake said without elaborating.

The three children were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. Also shot dead were Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of school; Mike Hill, 61, a school custodian; and Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher.

Scruggs' father, Chad, is a pastor at the Covenant Presbyterian Church, which is connected to the school. In a statement given to ABC News, he said the family was heartbroken.

"Through tears we trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again," the statement read.

'GET YOUR HANDS AWAY FROM THE GUN!'

Nashville police began receiving calls about a shooter at 10:13 a.m., spokesperson Don Aaron told reporters. The suspect was pronounced dead by 10:27 a.m.

"The police department response was swift," Aaron said.

The body camera footage showed officers rapidly searching for the shooter, in contrast to videos showing officers in Uvalde, Texas, waiting inside Robb Elementary School for more than an hour last May as a gunman inside a classroom continued an attack that claimed the lives of 19 children and two adults.

In 2018, a number of officers responding to a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, remained outside the building rather than immediately pursuing the suspect, according to a state commission's investigation. Seventeen students and staff members died in that attack.

Both incidents prompted fresh scrutiny of police protocols for active shooters, which call for officers to engage the suspect at once to prevent loss of life.

The start of the Nashville police video shows an officer retrieving a rifle from his trunk as a staff member tells him that the school is locked down but that two children are unaccounted for.

"Let's go! I need three!" the officer yells as he uses a key to unlock a door and enter the building, where alarms can be heard ringing.

The video shows officers passing by bulletin boards and cubbies as they clear one room after another. When the officers reach the second floor, one says, "We've got one down," before they race down the hallway to confront the shooter.

Officer Rex Engelbert and Officer Michael Collazo - whose body cameras provided the footage - both fire several rounds at the suspect. The video shows the assailant still moving on the ground as another officer repeatedly yells, "Get your hands away from the gun!"

Police previously released surveillance footage showing the shooter arriving at the school and gaining entry by shooting through a glass door. The suspect is seen stalking through empty hallways as emergency lights flash, brandishing a rifle and entering rooms, seemingly looking for people.

The Covenant School, founded in 2001, serves about 200 students from preschool to sixth grade in the Green Hills neighborhood of Tennessee's state capital, according to the school's website.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×