UPDATE: We learned late this afternoon that the US Department of Justice has canceled the seminar to be held by Metro police for law enforcement. We do not know the reasons why.
The lessons learned in the Covenant School mass shooting may help prevent future such tragedies.
We still don't know if the killer's writings and potential motivations will ever be made public.
That will be decided in court this spring.
But before then, Metro Nashville police now plan to share details of what happened in a specially arranged seminar.
The timing of this presentation raises some questions, specifically, what will be shared when so much of the Covenant shooting case file remains tied up in litigation that won't be resolved until April.
It was March 27 of last year when a single armed suspect went to Nashville's Covenant School killing three children and three adults.
Metro police responded to the scene taking out the shooter. The quick response likely prevented a greater loss of lives.
But nearly a year later, questions remain about what happened.
Details of the investigation have not been made public, but that could be about to change for law enforcement.
"The ad makes it clear that potentially there's going to be specific information on the Covenant shooting and how it may have been prevented," said NewsChannel 5 legal analyst Nick Leonardo.
Later this month, Metro Police will offer a presentation on the Covenant shooting through the U.S. Department of Justice for only sworn officers.
This will provide "...an overview, review factors that may have contributed to the violence and share lessons on prevention."
Could this include details from the shooter's writings now tied up in court?
"It leads you to believe you may get some knowledge about this particular assailant — what was going on," said Leonardo.
Answering the question perhaps of motive.
If that's the case, Leonardo says details from the session could lead to more leaks of the so-called manifesto.
But most also acknowledge the value in sharing such information with law enforcement in the hope it leads to strategies to prevent such future mass shootings.
The special session set for Feb. 29 will be held by Metro police Captain Steven Bowers. It is reserved only for sworn law enforcement officers.
This comes six weeks before the hearing in Chancery Court on whether the Covenant documents are made public.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
