27 March 2023 , 23:29
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The Nashville school shooter drew maps to plan the massacre and penned a sick manifesto, police revealed.
The suspect, who has been identified as 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, was killed by police at the scene at the Covenant School, Nashville, Tennessee, US.
Hale gunned down six people, including three children.
Nashville Police Chief John Drake went on to shed light on Hale's actions in the build up to the attack, saying police have determined that maps were drawn of the school with details of surveillance and entry points.
Drake said: "We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we're going over that pertain to this date.
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”We have a map drawn out of how this was all gonna take place.
“We know there were two AR-style weapons. One a rifle, another was an AR-style pistol, and the other was a handgun.
A man carries a child at the reunification center at the Woodmont Baptist church after the school shooting, in Nashville (John Bazemore/AP/REX/Shutterstock)“We believe two of those may have been obtained legally, locally here."
The young victims were pronounced dead upon arrival at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital, according to Craig Boerner, a spokesperson for Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which is affiliated with the children's hospital.
The Metro Nashville Police Department said: "UPDATE: 3 students and 3 adult staff members from Covenant School were fatally shot by the active shooter, who has now been identified as a 28-year-old Nashville woman.
"Two MNPD officers who entered the building and went to the sounds of gunfire engaged the shooter on the second floor and fatally shot her."
Children from The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., hold hands as they are taken to a reunification site (AP)Vanderbilt University Medical Center spokesperson Jessica Pasley has told local reporters that "three pediatric patients were transported to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, all having suffered gunshot wounds.
"All three were pronounced dead after arrival.”
Mayoral candidate Freddie O'Connell said: "Nashville has, sadly, today joined the communities that have experienced a school shooting.
"For now, my focus is turning to supporting the impacted families and revisiting our efforts to prevent these horrifying scenarios."
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Group prays with a child outside the reunification center at the Woodmont Baptist church (John Bazemore/AP/REX/Shutterstock)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."