The shooter who stormed a private Christian elementary school in Nashville on Monday, killing three students and three staffers, was identified as a 28-year-old white transgender woman named Audrey Hale who once attended the school, authorities said.
The suspect — who was killed by officers — was also a Nashville resident, police said. The shooter was later identified as Hale, NBC reported.
Women make up just 2% of mass shooters across the country, according to the Violence Project database, and Monday’s shooter is just the fifth female mass shooter in US history.
A car was located near the Covenant School, where the 14-minute shooting spree took place Monday morning, and provided investigators clues as to the shooter’s identity, Metro Nashville Chief of Police John Drake said at a press conference.
“But as stated, that investigation is still ongoing,” he added.
Hale, who said they used he/him pronouns in online profiles was wielding two assault-style rifles and a pistol, was killed by responding officers when they found her on the second floor of the school.
Police said it appears Hale had previously been a student at the school but it wasn’t immediately clear when or for how long.
The school had a protocol for an active shooter, but it wasn’t immediately clear if this was put in place during the shooting. Police said at a press conference Monday afternoon Hale had entered the school through a side door by shooting at it.
Police said they received the initial call about an active shooter at 10:13 a.m. The responding officers quickly began clearing the first story of the school after hearing gunshots coming from the second floor.
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