Tragedy struck the Covenant private Christian school this morning in Nashville, and more news and information about the horrific scene has slowly become available throughout the day.
In a building that is supposed to prepare our young children to go out in the world one day, three mentors and three 9 year old children had their lives extinguished.
Police have also identified the shooter as Audrey Hale, a 28 year old transgender, former student of the private school. Law enforcement officials also added that Hale is a female who identifies as transgender.
It is also being reported that the suspect had written anti-Christian manifesto, had maps of the school she attacked, and had scouted another potential location, however due too “too much security,” abandoned that idea.
“We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this date, the actual incident. We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.”
The attack is believed to be targeted.
Police clarified in a press conference that the shooter, armed with two assault rifles and a handgun, shot through the windows of a side door to access the inside of the building. It is believed that she possessed two of the three weapons legally.
Officers who arrived on the scene entered the building and confronted the shooter on the second floor of the building, where the suspect was fatally shot.
As always when these mindless acts occur again and again (with no end in sight), there have been many harrowing pictures to emerge from the scene outside the building.
Many are comparing the event to the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which took place in 2012 and claimed the lives of 26 adults and children.
After events like this, the country will politicize and weaponize the tragedy. Politics will be brought in and many will call for lawmakers to strengthen gun laws.
In all of those conversations, we must remember that 6 different individuals that either played an important role in our society, or someday would, are no longer with us:
Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9
Hallie Scruggs, 9
William Kinney, 9
Cynthia Peak, 61
Katherine Koonce, 60
Mike Hill, 61
The families of those 6 individuals will never be the same.
It is reported by Fox 5 Atlanta that there have been more than 100 mass shootings this year in the United States, and we are only wrapping up the third month of the year.
The United States is grappling with political tensions that have never been seen before. There are arguments everyday on Capitol Hill between the people that identify as Republican and people that identify as Democrats.
In an age where every topic is polarizing and every word can be weaponized, why is it that as the “greatest country on Earth” we cannot agree on this one simple idea:
Innocent men, women, and children should not be killed living their every day lives.
Much of the tension around gun laws relates to “infringements of freedoms,” but is it not the uttermost “infringement of freedom” to be unable to go to the grocery, the mall, the movie theatre, the concert, the park, or to school without worrying about a mass shooting?
The tragedy that took place this morning in Nashville, Tennessee is unfathomable. There is always hope that every time this happens is the last time it does, but the country has continued to see mass shootings again and again. A vicious cycle of loss, and subsequent thoughts and prayers sent a community’s way, while the world watches and wonders why things continue to stay the same.
Thoughts and prayers are incredibly helpful, but we’ll only move forward as a society when we value the invaluable state of “peace of mind” over anything and everything else.
The investigation into the shooting is still ongoing and more information should become available in the coming days.
Here’s more of the press conference with Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake:
