NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In a chilling revelation, the police report released Wednesday uncovers that the individual responsible for the tragic 2023 Nashville elementary school shooting had meticulously orchestrated the attack over several years while concealing mental health struggles from both family and medical professionals.
The comprehensive, nearly 50-page document provides long-awaited insights into the Covenant School massacre, painting a vivid picture of the lengths the shooter went to meticulously plan the violent act at the Christian school without drawing attention from mental health practitioners.
As the documents pertaining to the shooter’s plans surface, a legal battle over what should be disclosed to the public continues. Although the release marks the closure of the investigation by the Nashville police into the March 2023 shooting, ongoing debates linger regarding the disclosure of materials linked to this and other similar attacks.
Initially, investigators believed a manifesto outlined the shooter’s motivations and plans. Instead, the 28-year-old shooter, Audrey Hale, left behind numerous notebooks, art composition books, and media, meticulously documenting the plans and preparations for the assault, alongside insights into life events and personal motives. Hale, a former student of Covenant, was ultimately shot by police.
Hale harbored aspirations of killing at least 40 people, with ambitions to leave a legacy significant enough to inspire books, documentaries, and films, and hoped for the preservation of his weapons in museums and the sanctification of his bedroom as a memorial, according to police findings.
While Hale occasionally opted for male pronouns, the police report refers to female pronouns due to state law which defines sex by anatomical and genetic criteria at birth. Law enforcement acknowledged that Hale self-identified as male.
The inquiry notes but refutes the notion of holding Hale’s mental health providers legally liable for failing to intervene. The documentation highlights how Hale’s family and therapist had long harbored concerns about his mental wellness. Clinical evaluations by Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2019 and 2021 concluded that Hale was not experiencing psychosis, recommending outpatient care instead.
“She was well-versed in maneuvering within the mental healthcare system, adeptly dodging topics and manipulating providers into believing that past issues with homicidal and suicidal ideations had been resolved,” the report stated. As familial and therapeutic concerns heightened, Hale became more deceitful, even contemplating his mother’s murder to avert his plans’ exposure, albeit experiencing a “strong emotional attachment” to her.
Cognizant of his mother’s access to his financial accounts, Hale refrained from using credit or debit cards for expenses linked to the attack and regularly deleted attack-related data from his computer and phone to ward off discovery.
Hale chose The Covenant School as the site for the attack for specific reasons: low threat from overpowering staff and students, potential fame for targeting a Christian school, and fond childhood recollections of his time there.
“Hale frequently noted that her time at The Covenant represented the happiest moments of her early education,” states the report. Despite fury over racial, religious, and economic issues in written materials, authorities dismissed these as motives for the attack, asserting that none influenced her decision to attack The Covenant.
Hale had spied out other locations for possible attacks, including bustling roads and shopping centers. In 2018, plans were underway to attack Creswell Middle, a public school Hale attended post-Covenant. Detailed plans with timelines were created, though by March 2020 doubts emerged, given Creswell’s predominantly Black demographic and fear of racial labeling, despite professing no bias in targeting individuals demographically, police noted.
Security measures at Covenant School, such as blackout curtains and door security bars, had been enacted expecting potential school shooting scenarios, and were deemed effective when the incident occurred. They thwarted Hale from locating targets as he wandered, resorting to shooting empty spaces instead.
The tragedy claimed the lives of Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all 9 years old, alongside Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61.
Mary Joyce, a parent whose child was in the affected class, recollects Katherine Koonce and a male teacher addressing school shooter preparedness at a fall orientation before the shooting. “He was visibly moved discussing it,” Joyce remembered, “yet he expressed gratitude for the preparedness, should anything happen. And then it did.”