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Metro Nashville police seek Antioch High School shooter's mother on gun charges

Chrysta Thomas faces unlawful gun possession charges after DNA links her to weapon used in school shooting
Chrysta L. Thomas
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro Nashville Police say a warrant has been issued for the mother of the Antioch High School shooter on weapons charges.

The shooter's mother, Chrysta Thomas, has been charged with unlawful gun possession by a convicted felon, according to police. Police say they found Thomas' DNA on the gun the shooter, Solomon Henderson, used in the shooting.

Police say Thomas has a 2010 felony conviction in Los Angeles for possession of a stolen vehicle.

The school shooting occurred just after 11 a.m. on January 22, 2025, when the shooter entered the school's cafeteria and randomly fired 10 shots from a semi-automatic pistol.

One student, Dayana Corea Escalante, was killed by gunfire. Another teen boy was grazed in the arm.

According to police, detectives learned the shooter's family moved out of their Antioch home shortly after the shooting, but they don't know where they moved to. Thomas' information has been added to the FBI's crime information system to help find her.

The revelation comes as police say they have concluded their investigation into the Antioch High School shooting, determining that the gunman acted alone without any co-conspirators.

MNPD detectives say they scrutinized online material left by the shooter, 17-year-old Soloman Henderson. They say he idolized mass murderers from around the world and mirrored antisemitic and white supremacist ideologies.

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Students help relaunch donation drive for Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt

Young or old, we all love to play board and card games! Those games become even more important when you are indoors and don't have the ability to get outside, like patients in a hospital. Austin Pollack shares the story of students in a Nashville family who have helped re-launch the Red Wagon project to collect games for patients at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

- Lelan Statom