Three children and three adults were killed when a female shooter opened fire in a Presbyterian grade school in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday.
According to CBS News, on Monday morning, a shooter whose identity has not been released but whom police have confirmed was a 28-year-old Nashville native entered the Green Hills-based Covenant School through a side door and fired off “multiple shots” while on the school’s second floor.Upon arriving on the scene, Nashville Police Officers entered the school and began clearing the first floor of the building. While clearing the floor, officers heard gunfire from the second floor and moved upstairs. There they saw the shooter actively firing her weapon. Police then “engaged” her, shooting her dead. The shooter, who was carrying two assault rifles and a handgun, was fatally shot by two of the five officers inside the building, Metro Nashville PD said in a statement on Twitter.
An active shooter event has taken place at Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, on Burton Hills Dr. The shooter was engaged by MNPD and is dead. Student reunification with parents is at Woodmont Baptist Church, 2100 Woodmont Blvd. pic.twitter.com/vO8p9cj3vx Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 27, 2023
Two MNPD officers who entered the building and went to the sounds of gunfire engaged the shooter on the second floor and fatally shot her. Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 27, 2023
The identities of the victims have not been released at this time.
CBS News reports that Covenant which underwent active shooter training last year is a private Christian school that offers enrollment for preschool to sixth-grade students.
At the request of District Attorney General Glenn Funk, special agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have also responded to the shooting, TBI noted on Twitter.
NEWS ALERT: At the request of District Attorney General Glenn Funk, TBI special agents and additional personnel are responding to the scene of this mornings school shooting in Green Hills.
As indicated by @MNPDNashville, there is no current threat to public safety. pic.twitter.com/e9MgJFkaax Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) March 27, 2023
“As indicated by @MNPDNashville, there is no current threat to public safety.”
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee noted that he was monitoring the situation and asked for prayers for the community.
“I am closely monitoring the tragic situation at Covenant, & the @TNDeptofSafety & @TNHighwayPatrol are assisting local law enforcement & first responders at the scene,” Lee wrote on Twitter .
“As we continue to respond, please join us in praying for the school, congregation & Nashville community,” he added.
I am closely monitoring the tragic situation at Covenant, & the @TNDeptofSafety & @TNHighwayPatrol are assisting local law enforcement & first responders at the scene.
As we continue to respond, please join us in praying for the school, congregation & Nashville community. Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) March 27, 2023
First Lady Jill Biden, who was at an event when the shooting occurred, made a statement to those in attendance.
“While you’ve been in this room, I don’t know whether you’ve been on your phones, but we just learned about another shooting in Tennessee a school shooting and I am truly without words,” she told attendees.
“And our children deserve better. And we stand, all of us, we stand with Nashville in prayer,” she added, NBC News reports.
Related: A Prayer for Those Affected by the Covenant School Shooting
Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Seth Herald/Stringer
Kayla Koslosky has been the Editor of ChristianHeadlines.com since 2018. She has B.A. degrees in English and History and previously wrote for and was the managing editor of the Yellow Jacket newspaper. She has also contributed to IBelieve.com and Crosswalk.com.