FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Tim Burchett, Republican of Tennessee, called for the public release of the manifesto of the transgender shooter at the private Presbyterian school in Nashville.
“Our trans youth are worried,” Burchett told Fox News Digital late Monday. “If they don’t get the help they need they can grow up to have some serious problems, but obviously I don’t think everyone will grow up to have these types of shots.”
“We need to know what was going through this person’s mind, and the manifesto needs to be made public,” continued the Tennessee Republican.
NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: 6 DEAD INCLUDING 3 STUDENTS, SHOOTER
Rep. Tim Burchett, Republican of Tennessee, called for the public release of the manifesto of the transgender shooter at the private Presbyterian school in Nashville. (Getty Images)
The horrific tragedy that stunned the nation on Monday began when a 28-year-old woman – who identified as a transgender man – walked into Covenant School with “assault-style rifles” and a handgun, authorities said. Covenant is a small, private Presbyterian school in Nashville with students in grades kindergarten through sixth grade.
Three children and three adults including the head of the school were involved in the attack. The shooter, Nashville resident Audrey Elizabeth Hale, was killed by police.
Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Hale appeared to have prepared for the shooting, noting that investigators found a written manifesto.
“Also, we determined that there were maps of the school drawn with the details of the entry points for surveillance. At one point he was a student of that school,” he said. “There was a vehicle nearby that gave us a clue as to who it was.”
A police officer walks through an entrance to The Covenant School after a shooting Monday, March 27, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Police say the shooter entered the building through a side door and opened fire before going to the second floor, where responding officers confronted Hale. They do not believe he was wearing body armor, authorities said.
A search of a Honda Fit driven by Hale onto the school’s campus turned up “additional material,” police said. He also allegedly fired from a second-floor window at responding police vehicles.
Hale had two AR-style weapons, including a rifle and pistol, and a handgun. Two of the guns may have been purchased legally in the Nashville area, Drake said. Investigators were exploring a possible theory for a cause, but did not provide details.
Hale had two AR-style weapons, including a rifle and pistol, and a handgun. Two of the guns may have been purchased legally in the Nashville area, Drake said. Investigators were exploring a possible theory for a cause, but did not provide details. (Nashville Police Department)
Medical center officials said three young students, including Vanderbilt’s Monroe Carell Jr. They were taken to Children’s Hospital with gunshot wounds. All three were pronounced dead upon arrival. The other three adults were also dead after the attack. All three were school employees.
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Police identified the victims as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9, Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61. Koonce was Covenant’s head of school, according to the school’s website.
Covenant School is a private Christian institution for students through 6th grade, according to its website.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Louis Casiano contributed reporting.
Houston Keene is a political writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Houston.Keene@Fox.com and on Twitter: @HoustonKeene