Police have released the names of the three children and three staff members who were shot and killed by a transgender attacker at a Nashville school, and confirmed that the attacker once attended the Christian school.
The nine-year-old victims were named Evelyn Dickow, Haley Scruggs, and William Kenny.
Scroggs was the daughter of Chad Scroggs, pastor at the Affiliated Presbyterian Church.
Three adults also died: substitute teacher Cynthia Beck and custodian Mike Hill, both 61, and headteacher Katherine Consey, 60.
The attacker – who was killed by police – was named as 28-year-old Audrey Hill.
Cops said Hill was transgender, though they did not specify further details. She was born female, but the LinkedIn profile believed to be hers uses her pronouns, indicating that Hale was living as a man.
She was a student at Covenant School, a private Christian institution.
Haley Scruggs was seen with her father, Chad Scroggs, who is the pastor at the school’s Presbyterian church
Haley Scruggs is pictured with her parents, Chad and Jada, and her three siblings
Kathryn Consey, the school’s principal (left), and Mike Hill, the trustee (right) were among those shot dead by Audrey Hill.
A police officer walks at the entrance of Covenant School after a shooting in Nashville
A terrified girl presses her hand against the window glass of a school bus after being evacuated from Al-Ahed School
Tributes poured in for the six victims, as friends and relatives gathered Monday night at Christ Presbyterian Church for a prayer vigil. Tennessee mentioned.
“I don’t want to be an only child,” wailed Evelyn Dechhaus’ fifth-grade sister, who was a third-grader, telling the congregation.
Tim Dunavant, pastor of Harstville First United Methodist Church, said he hired Hill to work at the school more than a decade ago.
“The last employee I hired was when I ran the kitchen at Covenant Church and School,” Dunavant said.
That was more than 13 years ago. He was still working there today when he was shot and killed.
I don’t know the details yet. But I have a feeling, when it all comes out, Mike’s sacrifice saved lives.
I don’t have anything realistic to base that on. I just know what kind of man he was. And I know he’s the type who would.
He added, “Goodbye Mike, I’m going to suddenly miss those encouraging messages from you.”
The Scruggs are pictured together. The youngest member, nine-year-old Haley, was among the six victims
Haley Scruggs was seen with her three siblings and her parents, Chad and Jada
The Scruggs family is on vacation. Chad Scruggs and his sons were keen hunters, and his social media shows the family hunting wild turkeys
The police are still working on the motive.
“At one point she was a student at that school,” said John Drake, Chief of Police of Metropolitan Nashville.
“But I’m not sure what year…but that’s what I’ve been told so far.”
Drake confirmed that Hale was transgender.
He said the car I left at school recognized her.
“There was a car nearby that gave us clues as to who she was,” Drake said.
Hill possessed detailed, hand-drawn maps of the school, and had been observing them, according to police.
The small school is run by a church and does not employ a School Resource Officer.
Shortly before 10:13 a.m., Hill entered the school through a side door and began opening fire on the second floor.
It is unclear how she gained access to the building. Police say all the doors were locked.
Police arrived at the scene and heard gunfire from the second floor.
By 10:27 am, she had been shot dead.
She was armed with two assault rifles and a handgun.
‘I was here before the parents and then I saw the parents start to show up,’ resident Spencer Herndon told DailyMail.com.
I saw the parents running down the hill in hysterics.
“One lady in particular was running really hard up the hill and finally came to the intersection and suddenly she let out a howl and was very hard to see.”
He also saw a man run up a hill and collapse in hysterics before running back.
Children hold hands as they leave Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, Monday after a shooter opened fire, killing three children and three staff members.
Children from Covenant School walked past an ambulance on Monday after a shooter opened fire, killing three staff and three students, before being shot by police.
A father carries his son outside Covenant School in Nashville after a shooter killed three students and two staff members before he was shot dead.
Terrified children look out the windows of their school bus as they wait to be removed from school after the shooting
The Nashville shooting is the 129th mass shooting of the year.
The country passed the record of 100 mass shootings on March 5 – with the rate rising faster than in the past 10 years.
Last year, the United States experienced 100 mass shootings on March 19, nearly two weeks after this year’s date.
The previous year, 2021, was March 20, while in 2020 it was May 3, and 2018 and 2019 also saw late May dates for the dim sign.
So far this year, there have been 13 school shootings, with a total of six children killed and four adults or staff losing their lives.
Nashville is the deadliest school in 2023 and is one of only five in history to have had a gunman.
