Covenant Shooter Acted Alone, Planned for Months

Covenant School shooter Audrey Hale acted alone and planned the attack on the Nashville school for months, police said Monday.

Hale, 28, stormed the private Christian school March 27 with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun and fatally shot three 9-year-olds and three adults before being killed by police.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said that all information currently available shows that Hale carried out the attack completely on her own.

Writings found in Hale’s vehicle in the school parking lot and later in the bedroom of her home reveal that she planned the assault on her former school for months, MNPD said.

Hale, who identified as transgender, had reportedly drawn detailed maps of the school, including entry points for the building, and left behind a “manifesto.”

The department said it continues to analyze Hale’s documents in conjunction with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia.

The motive for the attack has not been established, police said, and remains under investigation. Police have determined, however, that Hale studied the actions of other mass murderers during her planning.

From the time she shot her way into the school until she was killed by police, Hale fired a total of 152 rounds, the investigation shows.

Police identified the victims as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9-years old, and adults Katherine Koonce, 60; Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, 61.

According to The Covenant School’s website, Katherine Koonce was the head of the school. She had led the Presbyterian school since July 2016, according to her LinkedIn profile. Investigators said Peak was a substitute teacher and Hill was a custodian.

Nashville Police began receiving calls about a shooter at the school at 10:13 a.m. and police spokesperson Don Aaron told reporters that officers arriving on the scene reported hearing gunfire coming from the building’s second floor.

Officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo shot Hale in a lobby area and she was pronounced dead by 10:27 a.m.

The investigation showed that Engelbert discharged a total of four 5.56-millimeter rounds from his rifle; Collazo discharged a total of four rounds from his department-issued 9-millimeter pistol.

Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake previously said Hale’s parents said their child had been under the care of a doctor for an “emotional disorder” and did not believe Hale should possess guns.

Hale had seven weapons that were legally purchased at five different stores. Drake said Hale sold one gun, adding that the parents said they were unaware of the other weapons.