The heavily armed woman who attacked a private Nashville school on Monday, killing three students and three staff members before being shot dead by police is a former student, authorities say.
Five of the victims were pronounced dead at nearby Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt; the sixth was pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities.
“It could have been far, far worse,” said Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake. “We have an ongoing investigation as it pertains to her at this time.”
The investigation is ongoing.
Who is the Nashville school shooter?
Police say the 28-year-old woman who opened fire at Nashville’s Covenant School was a former student armed with two “assault-type” rifles and a handgun. The Covenant School is a small, private Christian school.
Authorities have not yet publicly identified the woman. Police said responding officers found and killed the woman on the school’s second floor as she continued firing. She apparently entered the school through a side door, police said.
The shooter parked her car nearby, which helped police identify her. Drake said she lived in the Nashville area.
How was she armed?
Authorities have not yet released specific details on the weapons used, other than to say she had two rifles and a handgun. Speaking Monday afternoon, President Joe Biden called the two rifles “assault-type” weapons, and renewed his call for a ban on similar fi
In a press conference Monday afternoon, Drake declined to discuss whether she was wearing body armor, which has become common among mass shooters.
Female mass shooters are rare
According to Statista, only three mass shootings since 1982 were committed by women, compared to 135 by men. Since 2013, the source defines a mass shooting as any single attack in a public place with three or more fatalities, in line with the definition by the FBI. Before 2013, a mass shooting was defined as any single attack in a public place with four or more fatalities.
According to The Violence Project, this is the first time since at least 1966 that a woman committed a solo mass school shooting at a K-12 institution.
Go deeper:
Covenant School shooting updates: 3 children, 3 adults dead after woman opens fire in Nashville
‘Aren’t you guys tired of this?’: Woman who survived Highland Park shooting makes plea in Nashville
The White House reacts: President Biden renews call to ban assault weapons
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nashville school shooting suspect: Who is the female Covenant shooter?