Mass shooting at Nashville Christian elementary school

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^The subject is tricky, hence my refusal to make a direct comment about it.
I am waiting for the passion in the thread to subside.
Ppl, meaning not just me, have been burnt while approaching the subject in the past.

Perhaps we should stop this "tit for tat"?

Audrey Hale outlined plans "to commit mass murder at The Covenant School" in journals police found in Hale's car and bedroom after the March 27 attack that killed six people, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said

Police have not yet established a motive, but say Hale “considered the actions of other mass murderers.”

"The writings remain under careful review by the MNPD and the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia," the police department said.

Police have not yet established a motive, but say Hale “considered the actions of other mass murderers.”

"The writings remain under careful review by the MNPD and the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia," the police department said.

Weapons, numerous boxes of ammunition, five yearbooks from The Covenant School, and a school photo were found by authorities searching the home of Nashville shooter Audrey Hale, according to court documents obtained by CBS News Tuesday.

Officers found a "suicide note," the contents of which have not been revealed, along with a "Winchester model 1200" pump action shotgun, a "Mossberg Model 590" shotgun, and numerous boxes of ammunition, according to items listed on the nine-page search warrant by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

Three folders and 19 journals described as "school shootings" and "firearms courses" were found under a bed, while another described as a "psych folder/medical folder" was taken from a desk, according to the warrant.

The shooter had been under medical supervision, according to police.

Home videos, numerous personal journals — including "a memoir" and "notes written by Audrey" — cell phones, a 2023 planner, computers and hard drives, including a "Mac with stickers," were among the 47 items collected by officers, per the warrant.

Officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo, who are credited with firing the shots that killed the shooter, spoke Tuesday about those fateful moments. Engelbert said that when he arrived, he "didn't know the layout" of the school, and that he wished he "could've done more."

Collazo said he started going through "rooms as fast as he could" until he reached the shooter. He wanted the families to know he is thinking about them and "appreciates" all the well-wishes from everyone.

Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Tuesday that a reunification center has been established in which school children can reunite with the officers that helped them on that day. Children have come to visit those officers at the station, police said.

I'm not making fun of you, I'm horrified. It's like you want to wipe each other out.

Oh gosh if this shooter was trans it'll give the anti trans movement a huge boost, won't it. OMG no.

Can you imagine. 'Don't allow trans people to own guns. Don't allow them to have the same rights as other Americans.'

All my years growing up in PA Dutch country, I was always told I have no rights, by my parents, my relatives, and community.

Why I haven’t committed suicide yet is beyond me!

A Nashville councilwoman says releasing the 'manifesto' of The Covenant School shooter may provide more harm than good by being released to the public.

Metro Nashville Councilwoman Courtney Johnston has represented District 26 since 2019 and sits on multiple committees. FOX 17 News spoke with Johnston on Friday, addressing the 'manifesto' left behind by Audrey Hale before taking the lives of three children and three staff members at The Covenant School.

Hale's motives and the 'manifesto' have been a continued subject of interest for many looking for answers but Johnston says she personally hopes it is never released. "I just think from what I have been told it is like a blueprint for heinous things," Johnston says.

"Its really not even a manifesto," she adds. "Its diaries of a mentally ill person. Her mental illness is not something that should be used for entertainment and I don't understand these claims that law enforcement is hiding something."

Her statements coincide with statements from U.S. Representative Tim Burchett, his office telling FOX 17 News the manifesto is "being processed by the FBI" which is why it has not been released yet. Unlike Councilwoman Johnston, Burchett believes the documents could be helpful in answering some of the questions when it comes to a motive in the shooting.

However, Councilwoman Johnston cautions releasing the writings by Hale could have the opposite effect. Johnston tells FOX 17 News while she is not involved in the investigation, law enforcement personnel she has spoken with say the writings "keeps them up at night" and The Covenant School shooting was "a small sliver of what she was trying to do."

FOX 17 News reached out to the Metro Nashville Police Department on the status of the manifesto's release and were provided with this statement: "The investigation into the murders at Covenant remains open. Among the work being done is the review of a significant amount of written material by our detectives in consultation with the FBI's BAU."

A group of Tennessee parents whose children attend The Covenant School, where a deadly shooting in March took the lives of three 9-year-olds and three adults, filed a motion Wednesday seeking to keep the shooter’s writings from being released to the public.

“The Parents see no good that can come from the release and wish to contend that the writings — which they believe are the dangerous and harmful writings of a mentally-damaged person — should not be released at all,” their filling reads.

Their motion comes just days after more than 60 Tennessee House Republicans called for the writings to be released.

In a Monday letter to Nashville Police Chief John Drake, House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison said the timely release of the records is “critical to understanding the shooter’s behavior and motives” before lawmakers convene for a special session where they are expected to consider a proposal to remove firearms from people judged dangerous to themselves or others.

In addition, three conservative groups had previously filed lawsuits seeking to force Nashville police to turn over the records. The Covenant parents are seeking to intervene in those cases, which were filed by The Tennessee Firearms Association, Star News Digital Media and the National Police Association, a nonprofit that says it works to educate people about how to help police departments.

The groups sued after Nashville police denied their public records requests. Police claimed the writings were protected from release as long as they were part of an open investigation, but they indicated that they would release them at some point.

Since then, the cases have become more complicated. In addition to the Covenant parents, The Covenant School is asking to intervene as well as the church that runs it, Covenant Presbyterian Church.

The Associated Press is one of several groups that have requested the writings but not filed a lawsuit to obtain them.

Social media photos claiming to show some of the writings by The Covenant School shooter Audrey Hale are authentic, FOX 17 News has confirmed through a source.

On March 27, Hale – a woman who identified as transgender – entered the private elementary school and opened fire, taking the lives of three children and three staff members. Writings obtained by the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) left behind by Hale have been the source of intense legal and public debate over if they should be released to the public.

In the months following the shooting, lawsuits filed by the National Police Association (NPA), The Tennessean, and Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) called for the public release of writings left behind by Hale. The school, a group of parents from Covenant, and others have argued the writings should not be released to avoid potential copycats and to allow for closure to the parents who lost children.

On Monday, Steven Crowder, host of the Louder with Crowder talk show, leaked images of three of the pages of writings. Their release has prompted a response from new Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell, who says he is “concerned.” The mayor has instructed Metro’s top attorney to launch an investigation into the leaked photos.

In a statement release, Mayor O'Connell says “I have directed Wally Dietz, Metro’s Law Director, to initiate an investigation into how these images could have been released. That investigation may involve local, state, and federal authorities. I am deeply concerned with the safety, security, and well-being of the Covenant families and all Nashvillians who are grieving. This incident naturally invokes additional emotional trauma, and families or individuals who need support should reach out to professionals at National Alliance on Mental Illness (615-891-4724), MNPD support counselors (615-862-7773) or MNPS Family Information Center (615-259-INFO).”

Dietz followed O'Connell's statement confirming a full investigation. "At this time we have limited information about this possible leak of documents related to the tragic shooting at Covenant School. I cannot confirm or deny the authenticity of the documents due to the existing lawsuit," Dietz stated. "At the request of the Mayor, I am initiating a full investigation with multiple law enforcement agencies to determine exactly what happened."

The writings include apparent motivations behind the attack and Hale's mindset. On one page, Hale writes "Wanna kill all you little c*******," one page from the alleged manifesto reads. "Bunch of little f****** w/ your white privlages f*** you f******."

Another page included an hour-by-hour calendar referred to by Hale as "Death Day," including everything from "getting dressed" and "eat breakfast" to "prepare for attack" and "time 2 die." Hale adds "I'm a little nervous, but excited too. Been excited for the past 2 weeks," Hale allegedly wrote. "Can't believe I'm doing this, but I'm ready... I hope my victims aren't."

Attorney David Raybin, who is representing Hale's parents, says even Hale's parents have never seen the writings and because the case is pending in court it is inappropriate to offer comment on the photos.

I am far from sold that this is real. “Manifesto” published by a conservative talk shoe host. The “authenticity” of a possible “woke” motive confirmed by a Fox affiliate based on one unnamed source.

It's been authenticated now.

Today, the Tennessee Star published what it says are the writings of The Covenant School shooter, Audrey Hale, in the face of a court order that aimed to prevent the public release. Today, the newspaper posted what it says is the entire 2023 journal of Audrey Hale on its website citing a need for transparency in the investigation. FOX 17 is spending time examining the 90-page document released by the paper this Tuesday morning. We are carefully going through the passages, bringing parts to readers in this story. The “manifesto” as it was first called by Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake does not appear to be a politically charged declaration, inciting the violence. Rather, especially in entries from January through March 27, 2023, the day of the school shooting, the journal reveals what appears to be streams of consciousness in the writings that seemed to become focused on ending her pain by ending her life while also killing others.

On March 27, 2023, Audrey Hale -who identified as transgender- entered the private elementary school and opened fire. After taking the lives of three young students and three staffers, officers with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) engaged with Hale, fatally shooting her.

A FOX 17 News review of the document includes a reference to a different date for a "massacre" Hale had planned. In an entry dated January 16, 2023, Hale references a plan for the next day but reconsiders the action. "I didn't mean to plan my massacre on the 17th, going to be a terrible sh** for leaving you. How bad my heart hurts. Tomorrow is my last day on Earth." She then followed the entry with a P.S., adding "not leaving yet. I couldn't do it....I'll wait as planned."

On the same day (Jan. 16, 2023), Hale also provides some context of her emotional state, writing "I can't stop feeling sad, angry, so sad how much, too long," "No one gets me -everyone misunderstands Autism typical" and "I want to die." Another entry in large letters states "I hurt bad enough + low enough that I need to die."

That sentiment manifests itself in other entries referencing her "death day (D.D.) 3/27/23." On March 3, 2023, she writes in part "I will die a shooter, hopefully to become infamous...and I will be the horror to inflict pain." That infamy is what the mother of one of Hale's victims warned against just months after the shooting.

On the day of the attack, Hale stated in part "Can't believe I'm doing this, but I'm ready...I hope my victims aren't." The result was the loss of six lives, including Headmaster at Covenant Katherine Koonce, substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, custodian Mike Hill, and students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, each age 9.

Hale's writings also focus on her own self-image, often criticizing herself, family, and society for mental health issues. In an image depicting the first page of a separate notebook, Hale writes "Why does my brain not work right? Cause I was born wrong! Nothing on Earth can save me..."