The shooter who killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville in March 2023 was driven by a desire for notoriety, not revenge or a grudge against the school, according to a final report released Wednesday by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
Audrey Hale, 28, carried out the planned attack on March 27, 2023, fatally shooting three 9-year-old students and three staff members before being killed by police. The newly released 48-page report concludes that Hale’s motive was rooted in a desire to be remembered and to control the public narrative of the shooting.
“Hale longed for her name and actions to be remembered long after she was dead,” investigators wrote. “She wanted absolute control of the narrative surrounding the attack, particularly her motives.”
The report notes that Hale had no personal grudge against The Covenant School, its students, or faculty. Instead, she spent years studying mass shootings, especially the 1999 Columbine High School attack, which she viewed as her primary inspiration. Hale reportedly saw Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold as “worthy of emulation,” believing their posthumous notoriety made them “gods.”
Investigators reviewed Hale’s digital footprint, journals, and communications. She reportedly kept detailed journals and “rage storms” where she expressed growing anger and isolation over the years. Police found that, from 2018 onward, her writing became increasingly consumed by themes of violence and alienation.
On the day of the shooting, Hale left home at 8 a.m. with firearms, ammunition, and tactical gear. She visited a gun range before arriving at the school at 9:53 a.m., sitting in her vehicle for several minutes and sending a goodbye message to a friend. At 10:10 a.m., Hale fired into the building using an AR-style pistol and began her attack.
Custodian Mike Hill was shot and killed at 10:11 a.m., followed moments later by students Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs, as well as substitute teacher Cynthia Peak. Headmaster Katherine Koonce was shot at 10:13 a.m. after she left her office to respond to the fire alarm triggered by gunfire. The first officers arrived at 10:19 a.m. and located Hale on the second floor, where she was shot and killed at 10:24 a.m.
Hale reportedly appeared confused and frustrated after encountering locked classroom doors, as students and staff followed active shooter procedures and hid behind barricades. Investigators noted that, despite months of preparation, Hale seemed unaware of how modern school safety protocols could limit her access to potential victims.
Police also discovered that Hale had formed emotional attachments to a group of stuffed animals, which she treated as close companions. Officers found the toys in her car after the attack, and digital files revealed that Hale created stories and cartoons involving the animals, projecting her emotions onto them.
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