UPDATE (12:27 p.m. Central time):
By Jonathan Mattise
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at a private Christian grade school in Nashville on Monday, and the female shooter also died after being shot by police, authorities said.
The violence occurred at The Covenant School, a Presbyterian school for about 200 students from preschool through sixth grade.
Police said the shooter appeared to be in her teens and was armed with two assault-type rifles and a pistol.
The killings come as communities around the nation are reeling from a spate of school violence, including the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last year; a first grader who shot his teacher in Virginia; and a shooting last week in Denver that wounded two administrators.
The Nashville victims were pronounced dead upon arrival at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, according to Craig Boerner, a spokesperson for Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which is affiliated with the children’s hospital.
Other students walked to safety Monday, holding hands as they left their school surrounded by police cars, to a nearby church to be reunited with their parents.
Police officers with rifles, heavy vests and helmets could be seen walking through the school parking lot and around the grassy perimeter of the building Monday morning. Helicopter footage from WTVF also showed the officers looking around a wooded area between the campus and a nearby road.
Jozen Reodica heard the police sirens and fire trucks blaring from outside her office building nearby. As her building was placed under lockdown, she took out her phone and recorded the chaos.
“I thought I would just see this on TV,” she said. “And right now, it’s real.”
On WTVF TV, reporter Hannah McDonald said that her mother-in-law works at the front desk at The Covenant School. The woman had stepped outside for a break Monday morning and was coming back when she heard gunshots, McDonald said during a live broadcast. The reporter said she has not been able to speak with her mother-in-law but said her husband had.
The Covenant School was founded as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in 2001, according to the school’s website. The school is located in the affluent Green Hill neighborhood just south of downtown Nashville, situated close to the cities top universities and home to the famed Bluebird Café – a beloved spot for musicians and song writers.
The grade school has 33 teachers, the website said. The school’s website features the motto “Shepherding Hearts, Empowering Minds, Celebrating Childhood.”
Democratic state Rep. Bob Freeman, whose district includes The Covenant School, called Monday’s shooting an “unimaginable tragedy.”
“I live around the corner from Covenant and pass by it often. I have friends who attend both church and school there,” Freeman said in a statement. “I have also visited the church in the past. It tears my heart apart to see this.”
UPDATE (12:17 p.m. Central time):
By Jonathan Mattise
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two adults and three children were killed in a shooting at a private Christian grade school in Nashville on Monday, hospital officials said.
While police said the suspect is dead after a confrontation with officers, it was not immediately clear whether the shooter was among the five people pronounced dead at the hospital.
The violence occurred at The Covenant School, a Presbyterian school for about 200 students from preschool through sixth grade.
The killings come as communities around the nation are reeling from a spate of school violence, including the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last year; a first grader who shot his teacher in Virginia; and a shooting last week in Denver that wounded two administrators.
UPDATE (11:58 a.m. Central time):
By Jonathan Mattise
Associated Press
ASHVILLE, Tenn. — Three children were killed in a shooting at a private Christian grade school in Nashville on Monday, hospital officials said. The suspect is also dead after a confrontation with police.
All three children had gunshot wounds from the shooting at The Covenant School, a Presbyterian school for about 200 students from preschool through sixth grade. The victims were pronounced dead upon arrival at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital.
It was not immediately clear whether anyone else was wounded in the attack. Other students walked to safety Monday, holding hands as they left their school surrounded by police cars, to a nearby church to reunited with their parents.
The shooter died after being “engaged by” officers, Metro Nashville Police said in a Twitter post. It was not immediately clear whether the shooter died by suicide or was shot by police.
The fire department said it responded to an “active aggressor” but did not give any specifics. Other details about the shooting were not immediately available.
On WTVF TV, reporter Hannah McDonald said that her mother-in-law works at the front desk at The Covenant School. The woman had stepped outside for a break Monday morning and was coming back when she heard gunshots, McDonald said during a live broadcast. The reporter said she has not been able to speak with her mother-in-law but said her husband had.
The Covenant School was founded as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in 2001, according to the school’s website. The school is located in the affluent Green Hill neighborhood just south of downtown Nashville, situated close to the cities top universities and home to the famed Bluebird Café – a beloved spot for musicians and song writers.
The grade school has 33 teachers, the website said. The school’s website features the motto “Shepherding Hearts, Empowering Minds, Celebrating Childhood.”
EARLIER:
The Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The suspect in a shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville on Monday is dead, officials said.
The Nashville Fire Department said on Twitter there are “multiple patients” but their conditions were not immediately clear. The shooting occurred at The Covenant School, where students walked to safety holding hands to a nearby church to reunited with their parents.
The shooter died after being “engaged by” officers, Metro Nashville Police said in a Twitter post. It was not immediately clear whether the shooter died by suicide or was shot by police.
https://twitter.com/MNPDNashville/status/1640383339893800964
The fire department said they responded to an “active aggressor” but did not give any specifics. Other details about the shooting were not immediately available.
The Covenant School has had an enrollment of about 200 students from preschool to sixth grade in recent years and was founded as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in 2001, according to the school’s website.
https://twitter.com/NashvilleFD/status/1640377987685130244