Nashville Police Chief Says He ‘Can’t Confirm’ Whether Shooter Targeted Christian School For Religious Reasons

Nashville Police Chief Says He ‘Can’t Confirm’ Whether Shooter Targeted Christian School For Religious Reasons

Kate Anderson on March 28, 2023

The Nashville police chief told reporters Tuesday that he could not “confirm” whether or not the Covenant School’s religious affiliation made it the target of a school shooting by a transgender former student.

The Nashville Metro Police Department (NMPD) has yet to reveal the motive of transgender shooter Audrey Hale since her attack on the Christian elementary school that resulted in the deaths of three adults and three students on Monday. NMPD Chief John Drake said in a response to a reporter’s question during the press conference that he “can’t confirm” that Hale had attacked the school because of its faith.

Drake further explained that while he was aware that important religious holidays were coming up, he did not know whether that had something to do with the attack

“I’m not sure if [the shooting happened because] we’re approaching Easter, the holy period of Easter and all of that, I can’t confirm any of that,” Drake said during the press conference. “She targeted that particular church, we do know she was a student at that church at one point, but [we’re] unsure right now if that was the reason why.”

The Nashville Metro Police Department earlier on Tuesday refused to release 28-year-old Hale’s manifesto, which reportedly contains maps and writings related to the attack, according to Drake’s statements during the press conference, or comment on the nature of the motive of the attack against the Christian elementary school other than it was a “targeted attack.”

Hale, who used male pronouns and occasionally went by the name Aiden, also told a former teammate in a series of Instagram messages leading up to the shooting that she was “planning to die today” and that she left “more than enough evidence” behind.