USA: Nashville Shooter Identified as Transgender Alumnus
On the morning of 27th of March a shooting took place at the Covenant School, a private Christian school in US city of Nashville, Tennessee.
On the morning of 27th of March a shooting took place at the Covenant School, a private Christian school in US city of Nashville, Tennessee. It teaches right from preschool to grade 6.
The shooter was Audrey Hale who was 28 years old. He fired at a locked door and got in the school. He fired on the ground floor and then moved up to the second floor. When he reached there, he saw the police cars arriving and began to fire at them. One of these shots directly hit the windscreen of a police car. A police official got injured by the broken glass in this process. Two officers rushed inside the school and shot Hale immediately. Hale was dead at 10.30 am. Hale was armed with three guns, including atleast 2 semi-automatic rifles and a handgun. Authorities believe that two of the weapons may have been obtained legally and locally. 3 of the 6 victims were children and the other 3 were staff of the school.
The police believe that this was a targeted attack and not random. Hale was born a female but later identified as a transgender male. The police chief of Nashville informed the authorities that the shooter, Audrey, was an ex-student of the same school. The police believe he left the school after fourth grade. He started a freelance illustration and graphic design business last year after attending Nossi College of Art. They had discovered a detailed map of the school covering all entry and exit points and other details on him. He also left a manifesto behind in which he expressed his rage at being sent to a Christian school. The police were in the process of determining if his transgender identity played a role.
Officials established a reunification center where students inside the school were transported safely and all the parents were informed and they were there to pick them up. A lot of parents shared their concerns with the authorities. One parent talked about the child being traumatized after witnessing this, other parents say how are we to trust any other place when a shooting happens in a school, that’s supposedly the safest place for kids. The school’s entrance has a memorial set up for all the victims. It is sad because people are putting up balloons, stuffed animals, teddy bears, etc. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said he was "closely monitoring the tragic situation at Covenant" in reference to the shooting. President Joe Biden called the shooting a "family's worst nightmare". He called out congress to pass his assault weapon ban. "We have to do more to stop gun violence," he said, calling on Congress to pass gun control laws.
