Three children and three adults are dead after a 28-year-old woman opened fire inside a Nashville private school on Monday morning. The attack marks the 129th mass shooting in the U.S. in 2023.
Authorities believe the gunwoman — identified as Audrey Hale, per NBC News — was "at one point" a student at the Covenant School, a private Christian institution that teaches preschool through 6th grade, though they were not able to say when.
The perpetrator entered the building through a side door and was carrying two assault-style rifles and a handgun, per The New York Times. Upon arrival, law enforcement "heard shots coming from the second level. They immediately went to the gunfire. When the officers got to the second level, they saw a shooter, a female, who was firing. The officers engaged her. She was fatally shot by responding police officers," spokesperson Don Aaron told reporters. How Hale was able to enter the school in the first place is "still under investigation," added Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake.
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In remarks, President Biden described the "heartbreaking" incident as "a family's worst nightmare" and called on Congress to pass an assault weapons ban. "It's about time we began to make some more progress," he said.
Separately, Tennesee Gov. Bill Lee (R) said he is "closely monitoring the tragic situation," and asked onlookers and bystanders to "join us in praying the school, congregation, and Nashville community."
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