সহকারী অধ্যাপক
২৮ মার্চ, ২০২৩ ০২:৪০ অপরাহ্ণ
3 children among six shot dead by ex-student at Tennessee Christian school
3
children among six shot dead by ex-student at Tennessee Christian school
A heavily armed 28-year-old fatally
shot three children and three adult staffers on Monday at a private Christian
school the suspect once attended in Tennessee's capital city before police
killed the assailant, authorities said.
The motive was not immediately known, but the suspect had drawn detailed maps
of the school, including entry points for the building, and left behind a
"manifesto" and other writings that investigators were examining,
Police Chief John Drake told reporters.
The latest in an epidemic of deadly mass gun violence that has come to
routinely terrorize even the most cherished of US institutions unfolded on a
warm spring morning at The Covenant School, whose students consist mostly of
elementary school-age children, according to Reuters reports.
Drake identified the suspect as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, a resident of the
Nashville area, and referred to the assailant by female pronouns. The chief
said the suspect identified as transgender but provided no further clarity.
The Tennessean newspaper cited a police spokesperson as saying Hale used he/him
pronouns. Hale used male pronouns on a LinkedIn page that listed recent jobs in
graphic design and grocery delivery.
Police later released a school video showing the assailant blasting through
glass doors with gunfire and roaming the halls, pointing a semi-automatic
rifle. Hale wore a black vest over a white T-shirt, camouflage pants and a
backwards red baseball cap in a video that showed only the shooter in the frame.
Addressing an early evening news conference, Drake said police were working on
a theory about what may have precipitated the shooting and would "put that
out as soon as we can." He said the suspect had no known prior criminal
history.
In a subsequent NBC News television interview, Drake said investigators
believed the shooting stemmed from "some resentment" the suspect
harbored "for having to go to that school" as a younger person.
The police chief did not specify the nature of such presumed resentment, or
whether it had anything to do with the suspect's gender identity or the
Christian orientation of the school. Drake said the school was singled out for
attack but the individual victims were targeted at random.
'SWIFT' POLICE RESPONSE
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department began receiving calls at 10:13 am
of a shooter at the school, and arriving officers reported hearing gunfire
coming from the building's second floor, police spokesperson Don Aaron told
reporters.
Two officers from a five-member team shot the assailant in a lobby area, and
the suspect was pronounced dead by 10:27 am.
"The police department response was swift," Aaron said.
Police said the suspect was armed with two assault-type guns and a 9 mm pistol.
The victims were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William
Kinney, all age 9, along with staffers Mike Hill, 61, a school custodian,
Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher, and Katherine Koonce, 60, listed on the
Covenant website as "head of school."
Reacting in Washington to the latest school shooting, President Joe Biden urged
the US Congress again to pass tougher gun reform legislation.
"It's sick," Biden said, addressing the issue during an event at the
White House and urging Congress again to pass a ban on assault-style weapons.
"We have to do more to stop gun violence. It's ripping our communities
apart, ripping the soul of this nation."
US Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, said on Twitter that her
office stands "ready to assist" those affected by the shooting.
But Rosanne Cash, daughter of the late Nashville country music star Johnny Cash
and a singer-songwriter in her own right, responded by criticizing Blackburn's
ties to the National Rifle Association (NRA) gun lobby.
"You vote against every common sense gun control bill that comes across
your desk, you've taken over $1 million from the NRA and you rank 14th in all
Congress for NRA contributions. Spare us the hand-wringing," Cash said on
Twitter.
At the state level, Tennessee in 2021 did away with its permit requirement for
carrying a concealed handgun and now allows anyone aged 21 and older to carry a
firearm, either openly or concealed, without a permit, as long as they are
legally allowed to purchase the weapon.
Possessing a handgun is outlawed in Tennessee for anybody who has been
convicted of a felony offense involving violence or drugs.
The Covenant School, founded in 2001, is a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian
Church in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville with about 200 students,
according to the school's website. It serves preschool through sixth graders
and held an active shooter training program in 2022, WTVF-TV reported.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper expressed sympathy for the victims and wrote on
social media that his city "joined the dreaded, long list of communities
to experience a school shooting."
There have been 89 school shootings
– defined as any incident in which a gun is discharged on school property – in
the US in 2023, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website
founded by researcher David Riedman. Last year saw 303 such incidents, the
highest of any year in the database, which goes back to 1970.