Nashville school shooting: Transgender killer who murdered three kids was ex-student who made ‘manifesto’ and maps of building
A 28-year-old, who identified as transgender, has shot dead three children aged nine and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee.
Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who was once a student there, was killed by police after a confrontation with officers following the attack at the Covenant School.
Police said the “lone zealot”, who lived in Nashville, was armed with two assault-type weapons, and a handgun.
Hale had a manifesto and detailed maps of the school, and entered the building by shooting through a door before the killings.
It was also revealed the attacker identified as transgender.
A child cries on the bus leaving the Covenant School, following a mass shooting
Pic: Metro Nashville Police Department
Police chief John Drake said: “We have a manifesto. We have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this day, the actual incident. We have a map drawn out about how this was all going to take place.”
The six victims have been named as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all aged nine, 61-year-olds Cynthia Peak and Mike Hill, and 60-year-old Katherine Koonce who was the school’s headteacher.
Headteacher Katherine Koonce was among the six victims. Pic: The Covenant School
Mike Hill was also shot dead. Pic: Facebook
Officers started receiving reports of an attack at 10.13am (4.13pm UK time) and as police began clearing the ground floor of the school they heard gunfire coming from the second floor.
Two officers from a five-member team opened fire in response and fatally shot the suspect at 10.27am (4.27pm).
The three children, who were all students, were pronounced dead after they arrived at hospital.
The female attacker died after being “engaged by” officers, police said in a Twitter post.
A possible motive for Hale’s gun violence is not known.
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Nashville shooting ‘sick’, says Biden
Biden condemns ‘sick’ attack
US President Joe Biden called Monday’s attack “sick” and “heartbreaking”.
He said the US needs to do more to protect schools and he called on the Senate to pass the assault weapons ban – which would criminalise the knowing sale, manufacture, transfer, possession or importation of many types of semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity magazines.
No one else was shot in the assault at the school, which teaches students up to sixth grade (around 12 years old).
A police officer at the scene
So far this year, there have been 89 US school shootings – defined as when a gun is fired on school property.
In 2022, there were 303 such incidents, the highest of any year in the K-12 school shooting database, which goes back to 1970.
Read more:
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Children from the Covenant School hold hands as they are taken to another area to be reunited with their parents
Other pupils walked to safety, holding hands as they left their school surrounded by police cars, to a nearby church where they were reunited with their parents.
Officers with rifles, heavy vests and helmets could be seen walking through the school car park and around the perimeter of the building.
Helicopter footage also showed the officers looking around a wooded area between the campus and a nearby road.
Police said no officers were deployed to the school at the time of the shooting because it is a church-run school.
Nashville mayor John Cooper thanked emergency services for their response to the attack.
He tweeted: “In a tragic morning, Nashville joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting.
“My heart goes out to the families of the victims. Our entire city stands with you.”
‘Unimaginable tragedy’
Democrat state representative Bob Freeman, whose district includes the Covenant School, called the shooting an “unimaginable tragedy”.
“I live around the corner from Covenant and pass by it often. I have friends who attend both church and school there,” Mr Freeman said.
“I have also visited the church in the past. It tears my heart apart to see this.”
The Covenant School has about 200 students from pre-school to sixth grade and was founded as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in 2001, according to the school’s website.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
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The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
The man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death has agreed to plead guilty to the murders, in a move that would spare him from the death penalty.
Bryan Kohberger, 30, was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings in November 2022.
He was accused of sneaking into the rented home in Moscow, Idaho, which is not far from the university campus, and attacking Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Xana’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin
Kohberger previously pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, but is now set to be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences and waive all rights to appeal.
The family of Ms Goncalves spoke of their fury at the reported plea deal.
In a statement after media reports about the deal, they said: “It’s true! We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected. We appreciate all your love and support.”
In a separate statement, they said: “After more than two years, this is how it concludes with a secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families on the plea’s details.”
Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. Two other women in the house at the time survived.
Investigators matched Kohberger’s DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.
Bryan Kohberger’s mugshot. Pic: Monroe County Correctional Facility
A letter from prosecutors to the victims’ families, obtained by US media, said Kohberger’s lawyers had approached them to seek a plea deal.
“This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family,” the letter said.
“This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction, appeals.”
In Idaho, judges can reject plea agreements – but such incidents are rare. Defendants do have the right to withdraw their guilty plea if this happens.
A change of plea hearing has been set for tomorrow, with the victims’ families asking for it to be delayed so they can travel to the courthouse.
A gunman suspected of having started a fire to “ambush” firefighters in Idaho and kill them has been named as Wess Val Roley.
The 20-year-old is said to have aspired to become a firefighter before the attack on Sunday, which saw him allegedly perched in a sniper position, firing at the firefighters as they sought to put out a fire, which authorities believe he intentionally started.
Two firefighters were killed and one was injured as they came under gunfire over several hours, according to authorities.
An armoured police vehicle near where the firefighters were attacked. Pic: Reuters
They said the incident took place after they asked him to move his vehicle.
Roley was later found dead in the mountains with a firearm nearby.
Sky News’ US partner network NBC quoted Roley’s grandfather, Dale Roley, as saying “something must have snapped” in his grandson for him to commit such violence.
“He actually really respected law enforcement,” Mr Roley said. “He loved firefighters. It didn’t make sense that he was shooting firefighters. Maybe he got rejected or something.”
Mr Roley added: “I know he had been in contact to get a job with a fire department.
“He wanted to be part of a team that he sort of idolised.”
Bob Norris, the sheriff of Kootenai County, said on Sunday: “We do believe that the suspect started the fire.
“This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance.”
The firefighters were responding to a blaze. Pic: Reuters
Officers said they were “taking sniper fire” near the city of Coeur d’Alene on Sunday afternoon, with crews responding to a fire at Canfield Mountain.
Mr Norris said the gunman had used high-powered sporting rifles to fire rapidly at first responders. The ambush continued for several hours.
More than 300 officers from city, county, state and federal levels responded. Two helicopters were deployed with snipers onboard.
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First responders could be heard making urgent calls for help on their radios. “Everybody’s shot up here… send law enforcement now,” one dispatch said.
Later, the sheriff’s office said members of a SWAT team “located a deceased male on Canfield Mountain”, adding that a “firearm was found nearby”.
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