On Monday, a former student armed with at least two assault rifles and a handgun killed three young children and three staff members at a private elementary school in Nashville. The suspect, identified as Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old transgender woman, had maps of the school and left behind a manifesto. Police said she was “prepared for a confrontation with law enforcement.” The shooter allegedly entered the Christian Covenant School from a side entrance, shooting through a door and firing multiple shots while advancing through the building. Officers arrived within 15 minutes of receiving the first emergency call and engaged the shooter, who returned fire before being shot dead. Police identified the six victims, one of whom was eight years old, and two were nine years old. The adults killed were aged 60 to 61. School shootings are alarmingly common in the United States, where the proliferation of firearms has soared in recent years. President Joe Biden described the latest shooting as “sick” and urged Congress to pass a ban on assault weapons commonly used in mass shootings.
