2023 Nashville school shooting

The Covenant School is a private Christian school in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville. It educates students from pre-kindergarten to the sixth grade. It was founded in 2001 as a ministry of Nashville's Covenant Presbyterian Church, a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America; its enrollment is about 200 students. == Shooting ==

footage released by Nashville Police showing Hale entering and walking throughout the school armed during the shooting On the morning of March 27, 2023, Hale drove to The Covenant School, arriving at 9:54 a.m. CDT. At 9:57, Hale sent an Instagram message to an old friend saying an earlier post was "basically a suicide note" and anticipating dying that day. The friend who received the message called a crisis hotline, then contacted the Davidson County Sheriff's Office at 10:13. At 10:10, Hale, armed with an AR-15-style pistol, a KelTec SUB-2000, and a handgun, shot through a set of glass side doors and entered the building. A school custodian noticed Hale shooting his way into the school and tried to run away, but was immediately shot to death. The smoke from the gunfire triggered the fire alarm, causing staff members and students to initiate an evacuation without knowing there was an active shooter. Hale then went up to the second floor, and at the top of the stairwell encountered a substitute teacher and several children who were about to go downstairs; Hale fired at them with the AR-pistol, fatally shooting three children and the substitute teacher. The other evacuating students and staff escaped unharmed and barricaded themselves inside their classrooms. Hale then walked up to the four victims and fired more shots into them while walking into the second-floor hallway. On the second floor, Hale fired into two adjacent classrooms, emptying two magazines in the process and injuring one student in one of the rooms. Hale then stopped shooting and reloaded while continuing to search for potential victims in the second-floor hallway. Hearing the fire alarms go off, the school's headmaster exited her office on the second floor, unaware that an active shooter incident was happening. Hale rounded the corner from the church offices into the same hallway and encountered the headmaster, who asked Hale what he was doing. Hale responded by shooting her multiple times with his AR-pistol, then walked up to the headmaster and shot her once more with his handgun. After this point, Hale spent the next three minutes searching for potential victims in the rooms near the headmaster's body, and during this time also switched to the carbine. After failing to find anyone Hale backtracked to the church offices, where several faculty members were hiding, and was also unsuccessful at finding potential victims in this area. At 10:19, Hale went downstairs and headed to the church sanctuary, near the entrance of which he shot at two television sets with his carbine. He then fired through the double doors leading to the Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms without hitting anyone, before returning upstairs and entering the emptied-out church sanctuary, where he fired seven times at a stained-glass window depicting Adam and Eve with his carbine before leaving. Hale then walked by a window at the church vestibule and noticed police cars arriving. Switching back to his AR-pistol, Hale fired through the window at the officers outside for over two minutes. No officers were hit by gunfire, but two police vehicles were disabled. At 10:13, police received a call about an active shooter. When officers arrived at the scene, a teacher told them that the students were in lockdown and that two were missing. Officers entered the building at around 10:23. Officers stepped over a victim on the second floor as they made their way to Hale. At 10:25, a five-member team approached Hale, and two officers fired four times each, killing Hale. By 10:27, 14 minutes after the initial 911 call was made, the threat was neutralized. A reunification center was set up by the Metro Nashville Police Department at the Woodmont Baptist Church; students were taken there by school bus in the afternoon. An investigative report conducted by the MNPD concluded that Hale had fired 152 rounds during the attack: 126 from his AR-pistol, 25 from his carbine, and once from his pistol. Hale was also found with 272 live rounds on his person (199 5.56 cartridges and 73 9mm cartridges). In his car, several items were found, such as his wallet, car keys, cellphone, a backpack containing two notebooks, several stuffed animals, and five fully loaded 5.56 magazines. In Hale's residence, a short-barreled 12-gauge shotgun was found in his closet, and a suicide note addressed to his parents was found on his desk. Victims Six people—three students and three staff—were killed at random. The deceased students were Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs, all aged 9. The deceased faculty members were substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; custodian Mike Hill, 61; and the school's headmaster Katherine Koonce, 60. In addition, a third-grade student was shot and injured, and a police officer was hurt after cutting his hand on shattered glass. == Perpetrator ==

Aiden Hale (March 24, 1995 – March 27, 2023), was a 28-year-old former student of The Covenant School and a Nashville resident with no criminal record. Hale had attended the Covenant School from 2001 to 2006 (kindergarten through fourth grade). Hale considered those years the happiest of his life, claiming he felt "safe and accepted" there. Hale then attended Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School of the Arts (also known as Creswell Middle School). Here, he played on the girls' basketball team during the 2008-2009 school year. While Hale was constantly bullied at the school, the girls on the basketball team were very kind to him, which reportedly led to Hale having a lifetime obsession with them. One of the girls told The Tennessean that Hale had proceeded to stalk her on social media years prior to the shooting, saying: "It felt obsessive. It felt like stalkerish behavior." Another girl who was on the team passed away in a car crash in August 2022, which greatly upset Hale, who attended her funeral. In 2010, Hale entered the Nashville School of the Arts, where he graduated in 2014. Hale became fascinated with school shootings in 2017, after watching numerous documentaries about the Columbine massacre. In 2018, Hale began planning an attack on Creswell Middle School, however in January 2021, he instead chose The Covenant School out of fear of being labelled a racist due to the middle school's mostly black population. The attack was initially set to occur on April 13, 2021, to be near the anniversary of the Columbine massacre. He ultimately decided he wouldn’t be able to and chose a different date. On September 14, 2021, Hale went to The Covenant School and was able to get a faculty-guided tour soon after. Hale photographed and filmed locations within the school. Police first referred to Hale as a woman and used his birth name. On the day of the shooting, MNPD Chief John Drake said that authorities "feel that [Hale] identifies as trans, but we're still in the initial investigation into all of that". His former art teacher and a former classmate recalled him coming out as transgender on Facebook in 2022. According to a friend, Hale "had a childlike obsession with staying a child". == Investigation ==

The MNPD took the lead of the investigation of the shooting, assisted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Two shotguns, one of which was sawed-off, and other evidence were found in a search of the Hales' house. Evidence included a detailed map of the school with potential entry points and a manifesto. Hale was believed to have undertaken reconnaissance, and had originally considered targeting another location but had decided not to carry out the attack due to the level of security on the premises. Hale's surviving writings, including diaries and a planning document, initially called a "manifesto", were described by police as "rambling" and empty of any specific political or social issues. In April 2025, the MNPD closed their investigation, concluding in a 48-page report that Hale was motivated by a desire for notoriety. Hale left behind 16 notebooks containing over 1,000 pages of writings expressing a desire to serve as an inspiration for books, documentaries, a museum containing the firearms used in the shooting, as well as further school shootings by others. The MNPD concluded that the shooting was not motivated by race (though he "frequently raged over these topics"), nor was it motivated by a grudge against the students or staff at The Covenant School. The report stated that Hale targeted the school because he believed that "the Christian faith of those within would make them meek and afraid, which further assuaged Hale's self-doubts. The age of the children and the school being considered a Christian school made [him] recognize the instant notoriety the attack would bring." == Reactions ==

The Covenant School issued a statement asking for privacy during the law-enforcement investigation. A memorial concert was held at the Fisher Center at Belmont University, with artists including Carrie Underwood, Tyler Hubbard, Colony House, and Thomas Rhett performing. All proceeds benefitted the school's staff, students and families. The city of Nashville set up a fund to support those affected. The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee also established one for The Covenant School, and GoFundMe created a list with verified similar fundraisers. Several notable Nashville musicians including Mickey Guyton, Margo Price, and Sheryl Crow offered their condolences and anger about continual school shootings. Actress Melissa Joan Hart, who was nearby when the shooting occurred and helped escort some of the fleeing children to safety, recounted the experience on Instagram a day later. Representative Andy Ogles, whose district includes Nashville, tweeted, "We are sending our thoughts and prayers to the families of those lost. As a father of three, I am utterly heartbroken by this senseless act of violence." Ogles's response was subsequently criticized on social media after a photo of him and his family posing with AR-15s in front of a Christmas tree resurfaced. Arizona gubernatorial press secretary Josselyn Berry tweeted, hours after the shooting, a photo from the film Gloria of the film's protagonist pointing two pistols alongside the text: "Us when we see transphobes." The post was widely condemned, and she resigned two days later. Her former administration said the tweet did not reflect its values. As a part of a long-running Internet meme, posts misidentifying the shooter using an altered photo of comedian Sam Hyde circulated on social media. A fake manifesto posted anonymously on 4chan was reposted on Twitter. Media praised the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department's response to the tragedy, as responding officers succeeded in ending the shooting just 14 minutes after it was first reported. Actions taken by MNPD officers were reported on in contrast to the significant criticism some Texas police received after the 2022 Uvalde Shooting. On January 3, 2025, President Joe Biden recognized five Nashville police officers for their actions by awarding each the Medal of Valor, the highest presidential award for public safety personnel in the United States. Policy debate and protests In response to the shooting, U.S. President Joe Biden said, "We have to do more to stop gun violence. It's ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation, ripping at the very soul of the nation... we have to do more to protect our schools, so they aren't turned into prisons." Nashville Mayor John Cooper called for the state to enact risk-protection laws and take action on gun safety. Tennessee state representative Bob Freeman, a Democrat from Nashville, called for gun reforms in the wake of the shooting. Protestors called for increased gun control in reaction to the shootings. On March 30, thousands of protestors gathered at the Tennessee State Capitol to call for stricter gun control laws. Some children held signs saying "I'm nine" in reference to the age of the children shot. Within the chamber of the capitol, three state representatives, Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson led the public gallery in chants of "no more silence", "we have to do better", and "gun reform now", demanding that lawmakers strengthen gun laws. This protest delayed a hearing on a bill which would expand gun access. The student group March for Our Lives organized walkouts across Tennessee as well as a march to the State Capitol. After their actions during the March 30 protest, Johnson and Jones were stripped of their committee assignments and, alongside Pearson, were notified that they could be expelled from the House. House Speaker Cameron Sexton said their actions were unacceptable, breaking rules of decorum and procedure. Jones and Pearson were expelled from the House on April 6, with the vote to expel Johnson failing by a single vote. Within a week, they were reinstated in interim capacities—the Nashville Metropolitan Council unanimously voted to reinstate Jones, and the Shelby County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to reinstate Pearson. The expulsion and interim reinstatement garnered national attention. Also on April 5, right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk spoke out against gun laws at a Turning Point USA rally, stating, "It's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights". He further stated that gun violence could be reduced with having armed guards at schools. Kirk's response was criticized by Shannon Watts, who stated in an email to Newsweek that gun safety laws were essential to saving lives. After Kirk was shot dead on a college campus on September 10, 2025, his statement was reposted numerous times on social media. The state legislature passed bills designed to improve safety measures at schools. In March, it passed a law allowing private schools to hire school resource officers from police departments to help prevent shootings, effective immediately. In April, the legislature passed a bill allocating $230 million towards school safety, including to place school-resource officers in every school; the bill was signed into law in May. On August 8, 2023, Governor Bill Lee officially called for a special session of the General Assembly to be held on August 21 to focus on public safety in response to the shooting. Controversy over Hale's writings In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, police officers collected what was initially described as a "manifesto" authored by Hale. and state senator Todd Gardenhire, who argued, along with some open-government advocates, that Tennessee's public records laws required the release of the writings. Metro Nashville Council Member Courtney Johnston said that the FBI had told her that the documents would not be released because they detailed a "blueprint of total destruction" and could inspire other shooters. Several Tennessee politicians When the Tennessee Firearms Association, among other organizations, filed suit to obtain the writings, the MNPD announced that, in the face of "pending litigation", it would delay the release on the advice of counsel. The Covenant School sought to intervene in both cases to protect "sensitive information owned by The Covenant School" from being released, and a collection of Covenant parents, representing 75% of the families at the school, sought to provide argument that the writings—even in a redacted form—should not be released at all. A judge granted the requests to intervene by the school and the parents. In March 2024, a federal judge in Tennessee ordered the FBI to hand over the manifesto left behind by the shooter. On February 4, 2026, the Court of Appeals of Tennessee issued a ruling that required the trial court to proceed in having the documents made available for inspection. Leaks On November 6, 2023, images of three pages of Hale's diary were released by conservative commentator Steven Crowder. and Nashville mayor Freddie O'Connell directed Nashville's Department of Law to investigate "how these images could have been released". ==See also==