Nashville school shooting: Who was the transgender woman who killed 6, including 9-year-old pupils?

It’s yet another dark day in America marred by a mass shooting. On Monday, a heavily armed former student attacked a private elementary school in the city of Nashville, Tennessee, killing three children and three staff members.

Three of the victims were students aged nine at Covenant School; the adult victims were employees at the institute and one was the head of the school.

Police identified the pupils as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. The adult victims were Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61. Koonce was the head of the school.

The suspect was identified as Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old who identified as a transgender woman. Hale was shot dead by the police.

The shootout

Police received the first call about the incident at 10:13 am local time on Monday.

Hale drove to the school in a Honda Fit and barged in by firing through one of the school doors, which were all locked, according to a report by the BBC.

The suspect was armed with three guns including a semi-automatic rifle. They fired shots on the ground floor and then moved to the second floor of the building.

As police cars arrived, Hale fired at them and a windscreen of one of the vehicles was hit. One officer was reportedly injured by the broken glass.

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Police rushed inside the school building and shot the suspect dead at 10.27 am, the BBC reports.

Also read: The grim reality of gun violence in the US

The shooter

Nashville police chief John Drake identified Hale as a transgender woman on Monday afternoon. But Hale listed “He/Him” pronouns on a LinkedIn profile. It is unclear whether Hale identified as a man or woman at the time of the killings.

The police searched a car parked near the school, which gave them clues to the identity of the alleged attacker. They “firmly believe” that Hale was a former student of the school. Hale’s home is around five kilometres away from Covenant School.

Police officers reached the address and carried out searches. More weapons were reportedly recovered from there, in addition to the ones used in the attack, including a sawed-off shotgun and a second shotgun, reports the BBC.

In a tweet, Metro Nashville Police shared a photo of the car driven by Hale and the doors that the shooter shot out to gain entry into the school.

Hale entered the Covenant building after shooting out the glass of these doors. pic.twitter.com/EC5e7bA5dN

— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 28, 2023

A LinkedIn profile and personal website reportedly linked to Hale describe them as a graphic designer who created logos for businesses. They graduated from Nossi College of Art with a degree in illustration and graphic design last year, according to their LinkedIn profile, reports Fox News.

Nossi College of Art & Design is described on its website as “the only college in Tennessee designed specifically as an art school”.

Hale also worked as a part-time grocery shopper.

A planned attack

According to the police, the suspect had no previous criminal records before the shooting at Covenant School. However, Monday’s attack was carefully planned.

Hale left behind a manifesto, had maps of the school detailing surveillance and entry-exit points, and was “prepared for a confrontation with law enforcement,” the police chief told reporters following the latest outburst of gun violence to stun the United States, reports AFP.

In an interview with NBC News, Drake said that the suspect was likely plotting a broader attack, as the manifesto “indicates that there was going to be shootings at multiple locations, and the school was one of them”.

Asked whether Hale’s identity could be a factor in the motive, Drake said authorities “feel that she identifies as trans, but we’re still in the initial investigation into all of that and if it actually played a role in to this incident.”

US president Joe Biden has ordered the flags at the White House and all federal buildings to be flown at half-staff to honour the victims of the school shooting. The order will be in effect until Friday, according to the White House.

Also read: Nashville shooting: A look back at the worst gun violence in US schools

A spat of shootings

Gun violence continues to haunt the US. Monday’s shooting brings the number of mass shootings up to 129 this year.

The country recorded more than 100 mass shootings by 5 March with the rate rising faster than it has in the past ten years, reports Daily Mail. In 2022, the country surpassed 100 mass shootings on 19 March, 14 days after this year’s date. In 2021, the date was 20 March and it was 3 May in 2020.

The Nashville shooting is the 129th this year. There have been 13 school shootings in 2023.

“Americans are tired of fearing if they or their families will be the next victims of a mass shooting. Our children are tired of being told to ‘run, hide, and fight,’” Kris Brown, president of Brady: United Against Gun Violence, an organisation seeking to mitigate gun violence in the US, told CNN in early March when the country crossed 100 mass shooting in the year.

Mass shootings continue to pick up even after last year’s bipartisan gun safety law. More legislation is the need of the hour but the US Congress remains divided.

The gun ownership numbers are stark. There are about 120 guns for every 100 Americans, according to the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey. No other nation has more civilian guns than people, reports CNN.

About 44 per cent of US adults live in a household with a gun, and about one-third own one personally, a November 2020 Gallup survey points out.

America has more deaths from gun violence than any other developed country per capita. The rate is eight times greater than Canada, 22 times higher than in the European Union and 23 times greater than in Australia, according to Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation data from 2019, reports CNN.

Mass shootings remain the country’s biggest shame.

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