A Pre-K teacher and her students reportedly hid in a school closest Monday morning, as an armed woman shot and killed numerous people at The Covenant School in Nashville.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the incident started at around 10:30 a.m. when an active shooter, identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, opened fire inside the school, at 33 Burton Hills Blvd. Nashville police said the shooter engaged with officers and is now dead.
Avery Myrick told NBC 4 that her mother, a preschool teacher, called and told her that there was “shooting all over” as she hid in a school closet with her students.
“She said they were hiding in the closet, and there was shooting all over,” Myrick said. “[She said] they had potentially tried to get into her room.”
Police said Hale shot and killed three children and three adults, identified as:
- Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9
- Hallie Scruggs, 9
- William Kinney, 9
- Cynthia Peak, 61
- Katherine Koonce, 60
- Mike Hill, 61
The shooter, according to Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake, was once a student at the school, but it’s unclear when.
“At one point she was a student at that school, but unsure what year,” he said.
Police said Hale broke into a side door to enter the school, then opened fire with “assault-type rifles and a handgun.” She was fatally shot at the scene after engaging with police.
“They heard shots coming from the second level. They immediately went to the gunfire. When the officers got to the second level, they saw a shooter, a female, who was firing. The officers engaged her. She was fatally shot by responding police officers,” Nashville police spokesperson Don Aaron said.
“The police department response was swift.”
The victims were described as being staff members and students at the school, which serves preschool students through sixth grade, according to NBC News.
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[Feature Photo: This photo provided by the Metro Nashville Police Department shows officers at an active shooter event that took place at Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, in Nashville, Tenn. Monday, March 27, 2023. Authorities say the suspect in a shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville is dead. (Metro Nashville Police Department via AP)]
