NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Three children are among six people who were killed after a woman opened fire inside a private Christian elementary school in Nashville on Monday. Police first received a call about 10:13 a.m. regarding the mass murder at Covenant School on Burton Hills Drive, according to reports.
As officers with the Metro Nashville Police Department responded to the scene to clear the halls, they heard gunfire on the second floor and rushed to a lobby-type area where they encountered a Nashville woman who was armed with two assault rifles and a handgun, the New York Post reported.
The homicidal suspect had killed three students and three staff members before a five-member police team was in a position to neutralize her on the second floor at approximately 10:27 a.m.
Nashville police said via 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.”
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
Don Aaron, a spokesperson for the Metro Nashville Police Department, said the female suspect, 28, was believed to have entered a side entrance with all three firearms, according to The Tennesseean.
“The police department response was swift,” Aaron said. “Officers entered the first story of the school and begin clearing it. They heard shots coming from the second level; they immediately went to the gunfire.”
John Howser, chief communications officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said in a statement, “[Three] pediatric patients were transported to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, all having suffered gunshot wounds. All three were pronounced dead after arrival.”
Neither the victims nor the suspect have yet been identified. The female suspect had initially been reported as a teen until authorities confirmed her age.
It’s unclear if the suspect had a connection to the school and investigators are trying to determine her motive.
One officer sustained a cut to his hand due to broken class, but no other law enforcement personnel were injured, officials noted.
🚨#BREAKING: 3 dead, multiple injured, after a gunman opened fire at the Covenant School in #Nashville, Tennessee pic.twitter.com/Rs6H2nkp5z
— World Source News (@Worldsource24) March 27, 2023
Students were reunified with parents at Woodmont Baptist Church.
Local detectives are receiving assistance from FBI and AFT agents who have responded to the scene.
Covenant School offers private education for pre-K through 6th grade. It has an enrollment of 209 students along with 42 staff members, according to a school official.
Nashville Councilman Freddie O’Connell said in a statement: “Nashville has, sadly, today joined the communities that have experienced a school shooting. For now, my focus is turning to supporting the impacted families and revisiting our efforts to prevent these horrifying scenarios.”
