2023 Nashville school shooting
On March 27, 2023, a mass shooting occurred at The Covenant School, a Presbyterian Church in America parochial elementary school in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee when 28-year-old Aiden Hale (born Audrey Elizabeth Hale), a transgender man and former student of the school,[4][5][6] killed three nine‑year‑old children and three adults before being shot and killed by two Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers. It is the deadliest mass shooting in Tennessee history.
2023 Nashville school shooting
Students and staff at The Covenant School
- AR-15 style pistol
- Kel-Tec SUB-2000 carbine
- Handgun[1]
7 (including the perpetrator)
1[a]
Background
The Covenant School is a private Christian school in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville. It educates students from pre-kindergarten to the sixth grade. It was founded in 2001 as a ministry of Nashville's Covenant Presbyterian Church, a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America; its enrollment is about 200 students.[7]
Perpetrator
Aiden Hale was a 28-year-old Nashville resident with no criminal record.[31] According to a former headmaster of the Covenant School, Hale attended the school when "around 10 years of age".[32][33] MNPD Police Chief John Drake said Hale was under care for an emotional disorder and had legally purchased seven firearms, including three recovered from the shooting scene, between October 2020 and June 2022.[1]
Police referred to Hale as a woman and used his birth name, Audrey Elizabeth Hale. On the day of the shooting, MNPD Chief John Drake said that authorities "feel that [Hale] identifies as trans, but we're still in the initial investigation into all of that".[31] Media sources subsequently reported Hale was a trans man.[34][35] His former art teacher and a former classmate recalled him coming out as transgender on Facebook in 2022.[36][37] According to a friend, Hale "had a childlike obsession with staying a child".[38]
Hale was an illustrator and graphic designer who graduated from the Nossi College of Art & Design in 2022.[12] A neighbor said Hale lived with his parents.[39]
Investigation
The MNPD took the lead of the investigation of the shooting, assisted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.[40] Two shotguns, one of which was sawed-off, and other evidence were found in a search of the Hales' house.[41] Evidence included a detailed map of the school with potential entry points and a manifesto.[21][42] Hale was believed to have undertaken reconnaissance, and had originally considered targeting another location but had decided not to carry out the attack due to the level of security on the premises.[42] On April 3, police said Hale planned the shooting for months and fired 152 rounds at the school, 126 of them 5.56 rifle rounds and 26 of them 9mm rounds.[43]
As of April 14, 2023, police have not publicly disclosed a motive for the shooting. Hale's surviving writings, including diaries and a planning document, initially called a "manifesto", were described by police as "rambling" and empty of any specific political or social issues.[33] Three pages of Hale's diary, described by CNN as containing "hate-filled language" directed at the school and its children, were leaked by conservative commentator Steven Crowder on November 6, 2023.[44]