Nashville police revealed that the 28-year-old who shot and killed six people at the Covenant School, including three children, identified as transgender and had a detailed manifesto to attack the Christian academy.
Officials said Audrey Hale, a former student, entered the school Monday morning by shooting through a door on the side of the building.
While inside, Hale killed Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age 9, as well as custodian Mike Hill and substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, both 61, and school head Katherine Koonce, 60.
Following the shootings, Hale was killed when they encountered officers on the second floor by 10:27 a.m., four minutes into the shooting.
Police said Hale was equipped with at least two assault rifles and a handgun, and in searching her family home in Nashville, officers found detailed maps and a manifesto of the attack.
“We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this day,” Nashville police chief John Drake said about the discovery.
He added that Hale was “prepared to do more harm than was actually done.”
Drake said police are looking into whether Hale’s identity as a trans person played a role in the deadly shooting, with investigators coming up with theories based on their findings.
Police said they are in contact with the suspects’ father, and will release video about the shooting in the coming days.
Hale was notably an alumnus of the small private school, which teaches students in pre-K through 6th grade and only has about 200 students enrolled, according to its website.
The school was founded in 2001 as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church and its annual tuition fees range between $7,250 for three-day pre-school and $16,500 for pupils in kindergarten through sixth grade.
The school focuses its curriculum on biblical theology, where students take classes about the bible along with standard education courses, with the school motto being “Shepherding Hearts, Empowering Minds, Celebrating Childhood.”
The school is located in the affluent Green Hills neighborhood just south of Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe, a beloved spot for musicians and songwriters.