News

Actions

The basics: What we know about The Covenant School mass shooting

Posted at 9:58 PM, Mar 27, 2023
and last updated 2023-03-31 07:15:44-04

The Covenant School — a private Christian School in Green Hills — experienced a mass shooting on Monday, when students and staff died on the campus.

Here's what we know about everything so far.

What happened at The Covenant School?

On Monday morning, police said that they had a 911 call about the incident at 10:13 a.m. The shooter, Audrey Hale, arrived at the school in a Honda Fit and parked outside.

From the moment of the call until police took down the gunman, the shooting lasted 14 minutes until 10:27 a.m. The shooter gained access through a side door that the gunman shot through and entered the school. From there, Hale went upstairs to the second floor and shot at police through the windows. Hale hit the windshield of a police vehicle. Once police arrived to mitigate the shooting, authorities engaged in gunfire with the shooter before ultimately killing Hale.

Two members of an officer team fired on Hale. Those two officers are officer Rex Englebert, a four-year MNPD veteran, and officer Michael Collazo, a nine-year MNPD veteran.

Who died in the shooting?

  • Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9
  • Hallie Scruggs, 9
  • William Kinney, 9
  • Cynthia Peak, 61
  • Katherine Koonce, 60
  • Mike Hill, age 61

Who is the shooter?

Audrey Hale is a 28-year-old Nashvillian. Hale went to Nossi College of Art and Design and became a graphic illustrator upon graduation. Hale's home was searched by police Monday afternoon on Brightwood Avenue. Police found a manifesto and maps of The Covenant School along with a second location that Hale didn't reach. Police said the attack was "calculated and planned."

Hale’s Brightwood Avenue home resulted in the seizure of a sawed-off shotgun, a second shotgun and other evidence.

Who is the lead investigator?

The Metro Nashville Police Department will handle the homicide aspect of the investigation. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will look at the situation that led officers to fire their weapons at the shooter. The TBI investigates all deadly shootings that involve officers.


Get NewsChannel 5 Now, wherever, whenever, always free.

Watch the live stream below, and download our apps on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and more. Click here to learn more.