Nashville police have released surveillance video they say shows Audrey Hale with a rifle shooting the glass doors at The Covenant School and then walking through hallways armed during the March 27, 2023, attack on the school.
You can watch the video later in this article, but viewer discretion is advised, although it does not capture any of the actual shootings. Nashville police also released photos they said show firearms carried by Hale, including one with the name “Aiden” written on it, and a photo of Hale’s car. You can also see those photos later in this article.
“Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church/School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building. She was armed with 2 assault-type guns and a 9 millimeter pistol,” Nashville Police tweeted with the video.
Hale, 28, lived in Nashville and once attended the small private Christian school, according to police. Hale is accused of shooting six people, killing three 9-year-old students and three adult staff members at The Covenant School before Hale was shot dead by responding police officers. The Metro Nashville Police Department identified the officers who shot Hale as Officer Rex Engelbert and Officer Michael Collazo, a 9-year veteran.
Police also released body cam video. You can watch that video here.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Video Shows Audrey Elizabeth Hale Shooting Out a Glass Door at the School, Police Say
The video shows what police say is Hale’s vehicle driving into the parking lot. The video shows Hale’s car driving past a playground filled with students swinging and playing.
Gunshots can then be seen blowing out a side door of the church building where the school is located before Hale, holding a gun, enters through the shattered doors. The next video scene shows a glimpse of Hale in a red baseball cap with a rifle. Hale is then seen opening a door inside the school. Hale comes back out of the door, points the rifle and enters another door.
Hale is wearing some kind of a vest, as well as camouflage pants, the video shows. According to police, Hale went to the second floor of the building and opened fire, killing six people. Police said at a press conference the first call of an active shooter was at 10:13 a.m. local time. Five officers arrived at the school and entered the building, went to the second floor and engaged Hale. Two officers opened fire and Hale was killed by 10:27 a.m., police said.
With a photo of Hale’s car, police tweeted, “Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, drove this Honda Fit to the Covenant Church/school campus this morning and parked. MNPD detectives searched it and found additional material written by Hale.”
Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, drove this Honda Fit to the Covenant Church/school campus this morning and parked. MNPD detectives searched it and found additional material written by Hale.
“As officers responded to the Covenant campus, Hale fired on arriving police vehicles from a 2nd story window,” tweeted Nashville police.
Nashville Police Chief John Drake said in a news conference the shooting was a “targeted attack.” He also said, “We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we are going over that pertain to this date of the actual incident. We have a map drawn out of how this was also going to take place. There is right now a theory that we may be able to talk about later, but it is not confirmed. We’ll put that out as soon as we can.”
Audrey Hale Shot & Killed 3 Students & 3 Adult Staff Members in the School, Police Say
Hale fired a number of rounds inside the Covenant Church/School building. She was armed with these 3 guns and significant ammunition.
Police also tweeted pictures of Hale’s firearms, writing, “Hale fired a number of rounds inside the Covenant Church/School building. She was armed with these 3 guns and significant ammunition.”
One firearm has the word “Aiden” written on it. According to Hale’s social media pages, Aiden Hale is a name the suspect has used along with the name Audrey Hale.
Police added in a press release, “A search warrant executed at Hale’s Brightwood Avenue home resulted in the seizure of a sawed-off shotgun, a second shotgun, and other evidence.”
A total of seven people, including Hale, were killed at the school, police said. The victims have been identified by police on Twitter as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9, along with 61-year-old Cynthia Peak, 60-year-old Katherine Koonce and 61-year-old Mike Hill. Koonce was the head of school. Read more about the victims here.
According to its website, The Covenant School is a private Presbyterian Christian school for students from preschool to sixth grade.
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has set up a donation page to help survivors.