28-year-old Audrey Hale shot through a side door of the Covenant Presbyterian School in Nashville, Tennessee, just after 10 a.m. on Monday March 27th, proceeding to shoot and kill three students and three teachers with legally obtained weapons, including semi-automatic rifles.

“[Audrey] Hale, a 28-year-old who used he/him pronouns…was a former student of the school…,” says Emily Olson, reporter for NPR.

Hale, a former student of the Covenant Presbyterian School, who was being treated for an emotional disorder by a doctor, killed nine-year-olds Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs as well as 60 year old Katherine Koonce who was the head of the school, a 61 year old substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, and the 61 year old custodian Mike Hill, according to Aya Elamroussi from CNN.   

According to the New York Times, “[opened fire]… on Monday at a private Christian elementary school,… leaving behind writings and detailed maps of the school and its security protocols.”

 As of a month later, April 27, 2023, there is still no information on what Hale’s motive was, or any information about the ‘manifesto’ they left behind.  The most information released to the public is that the shooter left behind a suicide note, a drawing of the Covenant Presbyterian School layout (including possible entrance points), and the manifesto — whose specifics are still not public.

 Hale had left that morning with a red bag and their mother asked what was inside. After being brushed off, their mother “didn’t think any different” as she was unaware of the firearms in Hale’s possession.

Although there is no motive, police say that they believe “the school and the church had been a target, not any single person.”

Olson said this about the gun laws in Tennessee; “…being under a doctor’s care alone wouldn’t have met the threshold to prohibit the sale of weapons to Hale. When it comes to emotional disorders, Tennessee law prohibits the sale of guns to only those individuals found by a court to pose a danger to themselves or others.”  They go on to say, “Police can take someone’s guns if a court deems the person mentally incompetent, if the individual is “judicially committed” to a mental institution or if the person is placed under a conservatorship.”

On March 30, 2023, two out of three Democratic lawmakers in Tennessee were expelled from the House of Representatives after engaging in a political protest about gun laws after the school shooting a few days prior.  “The split votes drew accusations of racism, with lawmakers ousting Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, who are both Black, while Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, survived the vote on her expulsion…”

This shooting has shaken teachers, staff, students of all levels, and parents across the country.  Matthew Kane, Parent of a Hall High School Student, Syracuse University Student, and Husband of a Torrington High School English Teacher, is quoted as saying, “I worry about everyone being students right now, [Marla Kane] being a teacher, [Kendra Kane] being a student, [Rory Kane] being a student.  You guys are… open targets… when you’re in school, and there’s nothing I can do about it to make sure you guys are safe, and if something were to ever happen I don’t know what I’d do, ‘cause… I have no control over it.” 

When asked how she felt about being safe at Hall High School, Rory Kane said, ““I felt secure to a point. On a day to day basis, I felt like I was in a safe space and I was not in danger – but when the thought came to mind about what would happen if there were to be a shooting, I would quickly realize that I was not as safe as I thought I was…” She went on to say about her current school, Syracuse University, “I feel about the same at my current school. I feel even a little less safe because there are no security guards monitoring the halls of our buildings at our university like there was at Hall to give that extra level of security.”

Marla Kane, English teacher at Torrington High School, said she feels that she could be able to lead and react appropriately in such a situation as a teacher.  However, she says that if a shooter ever entered her classroom “there would be nothing left to do but fight.”

To prevent something similar from in the Hall High and West Hartford communities, students, faculty, and teachers can reach out to their friends when they seem to be going through something, or continue to report suspicious and threatening behavior online and in the schools.  Do research, educate people, and continue to keep the community safe and secure; you can find these places at Hall (Guidance Counselors, Assistant Principals, etc.), National and Local hotlines, and professional organizations (therapists, 911, etc.). 

As the story of the Nashville Covenant Presbyterian School Shooting is still unfolding, information will continue to surface and be released by the authorities.