This is the terrifying moment a US school shooter blasted through the doors of the building before killing six people, including three children.
Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a transgender male who used he/him pronouns, carried out the horror massacre at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, USA shortly after 10am local time yesterday.
His victims included three students who were just nine years old and three adults working at the school, the Mirror reports. The 28-year-old, who was armed with two air rifles and pistol, was shot dead at the scene by police.
Authorities later carried out a search at the gunman's home, during which they recovered a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, as well as evidence that Hale had carried out surveillance before the shooting. Police also found two more guns, a sawed-off shotgun and a second shotgun.
Nashville PD described Hale - believed to be a former student of the school - as a "lone zealot", who had written a manifesto ahead of the “calculated and planned” attack.
In CCTV released by the police department, Hale can be seen driving past unknowing bystanders and even a children's park before pulling into the school car park. He then shoot at the doors of the private Christian school to shatter the glass and climb through.
Dressed in a red hat and tactical vest, Hale carries two guns on his back and another in his right hand as he walks through the corridors. At one point in the video, he goes past what appears to be a reception area, alongside a sign for the ‘Children’s Ministry’.
The victims have since been identified by police as pupils Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs, all aged nine, and Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher, Mike Hill, 61, a janitor, and Dr Katherine Koonce, 60, the school's headteacher.
Officers rushed to the campus after the alarm was raised at 10.13am and found Hale in a common area on the second floor. He shot at police who returned fire, fatally wounding him.
Hale was said to have came to the school with a “significant” amount of ammunition, with police also finding additional written material in the Honda Fit he arrived in.
Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said: “We have a manifesto, we have some writings we’re going over that pertain to this day, the actual incident. We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.
“There’s right now a theory that we may be able to talk about later but it’s not confirmed, and so we’ll put that out as soon as we can.”
Addressing reporters, he added: “At one point she was a student at that school. But unsure what year ... but that’s what I’ve been told so far."
Meanwhile, it has also emerged that the Hale's mum had campaigned for stricter gun laws to prevent school shootings. Norma Fort Hale, a church worker and devout Christian had previously urged her friends sign petitions to ‘Keep Guns Out of Schools” and “Make large-capacity gun magazines illegal’ on her Facebook page.
She made the pleas to her friends in February and March, spurred on by the tragic 2012 Sandy Hook massacre in which 26 pupils and staff were shot dead by Adam Lanza.
District Attorney General Glenn R. Funk described the Hale's attack as "the ultimate crime." He also said that a vehicle left nearby helped police identify the shooter.
MNPD spokesperson Don Aaron described the scene in a media briefing: "The shooting happened at 10.13am. The shooting didn't happen in a classroom.
"Officers went to the gunfire. When they got to the second floor and saw the shooter, a female. There was a five-member unit that was on the second floor at the time.
"We know at this point that this shooter is a female and appears to be in her teens. Her identification isn't confirmed.
"She had two assault rifles and a handgun. She entered the school through a side entrance and went from the first school to the second floor. By 10:27 am, the shooter was dead."
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