The suspect in Monday’s mass shooting at a small, private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, had legally purchased seven guns from five different local gun stores, and hid some of those weapons at home, police said Tuesday.
Three children and three adults were slain in the attack at The Covenant School. Nashville police on Tuesday released dramatic body camera footage from two officers who fired at the suspect, identified by police as 28-year-old Audrey Hale.
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The video shows the officers entering the school, following the sound of the gunfire to the second floor and finding the suspect in a lobby area on the second floor. After an officer shouted “reloading,” the video shows officers Rex Engelbert, a four-year veteran, and Michael Collazo, a nine-year veteran, firing at the suspect.
Hale was shot dead about 14 minutes after the initial 911 call came in, according to police.
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MORE: Nashville school shooting: What to know about the 6 victims
The suspect was a former student, and while the Covenant School was likely targeted, Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said it appears the “students were randomly targeted.”
The suspect was armed at the school with two assault-style rifles, a handgun and “significant ammunition,” police said.
Hale, who lived in Nashville, had legally purchased seven guns from five different local gun stores, the chief told reporters Tuesday.
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Hale was under a “doctor’s care for an emotional disorder,” Drake said, and Hale’s parents “were under the impression that was when she sold the one weapon” they believed Hale owned.
“As it turned out, she had been hiding several weapons within the house,” Drake said.
Hale had a red bag when leaving home on Monday morning, Drake said. Hale’s mother asked what was inside, but was “dismissed,” according to Drake.
Hale’s mother “didn’t look in the bag, because at the time she didn’t know that her daughter had any weapons,” Drake said.
Metropolitan Nashville Police
Hale allegedly shot through a locked door on the side of the school to gain entry, according to police. As authorities responded to the scene, the suspect fired on police cars from a second-floor window, police said.
The slain children were identified by police as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9 years old. The adult victims were identified as 61-year-old substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61-year-old custodian Mike Hill and 60-year-old Katherine Koonce, who was head of the school.
The victims were found in different locations, Drake said. Hill was struck when the shooter sprayed rounds at the glass door to enter, Drake said, and Koonce’s body was in a hallway.