The Nashville police last night (Monday) released the horrifying video in which Audrey Hale is seen entering Covenant Christian Elementary School with gunshots and then calmly continuing to walk down the halls with two assault rifles in her hands.
In the video, Hale, 28, is seen storming into the school before opening fire on the glass doors on the side of the building.
Once inside the building, Hale, wearing a red backwards visor cap, army pants and a dark vest, enters the cult rooms through the unlocked doors, looking for possible victims.
Hale arrived at school in a Honda Fit and parked outside the building.
Hale murdered three nine-year-old children and three 60-year-old workers before being shot and killed by police.
During the deadly confrontation, Hale also fired at police officers sitting inside their vehicles from the school's second-story window, according to authorities.
The two policemen who opened fire on her are X Engelbert and Michael Colzo, who have years of experience in the department.
the video:
Audrey Hale (photo: screenshot, Twitter)
Audrey Hale receives an award at an art school (photo: screenshot, Twitter)
Audrey Hale's weapon (photo: screenshot, Twitter)
Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Hale targeted the school, but chose the victims at random.
Hale was a former student of the school, according to authorities.
"We have a manifesto, we have her writings and we're going through them," Drake said at a press conference last night.
"We have a map that she drew regarding the execution of the shooting. She planned to cause more damage than she did," added Drake.
He said Hale planned to attack another school in the area, but changed her mind because it was too secure.
Drake referred to Hale as a woman, but said she self-identified as transgender.
The Tennessean newspaper reported that a police spokesman later said that Hale referred to herself with the personal pronoun "he" and that is what her LinkedIn page also says.
The victims in the mass shooting are Evelyn Dickhouse, Haley Scruggs, daughter of the parish priest and nine-year-old William Kinney, and Mike Hill, 61, substitute teacher Cynthia Peake, 61, and Catherine Koons,
Hale was an excellent student at the school, which has 200 students from Kindergarten to 6th grade.
The Presbyterian school focuses on theology, Bible and regular classes. "We don't have all the details yet, but it could be that Hale wasn't happy about being forced to attend the school," Drake told NBC.
Children are evacuated from school after the shooting (Photo: Reuters)
The scene of the shooting (photo: screenshot, Twitter)
The Christian School in Nashville (Photo: screenshot, Twitter)
The Christian School in Nashville (Photo: screenshot, Twitter)
A former friend of Hale described her in an interview with the "Daily Mail" as a "sweet and funny girl".
She studied with Hale at the art school in 2014-2011.
"What she did is unforgivable, but I knew her as a sweet and funny girl," she said.
"When she came out as trans, no one was surprised. She didn't fit the stereotype of a school shooter. I don't know what happened to her that made her become this person we saw on the news. Everyone who was with me cried in disbelief. No one expected such a thing."
She added that "we studied a boy at the art high school, where there were some trans students and others who were part of the LGBTQ community.
She was very involved at school and had several friends." In addition, the two used to practice running together. "We ran together on the school team, and she was a great part of the team," said the friend.
"I have never defended a person who hurt a child. But it's really hard to believe that she did it. I thought it was a mistake at first. She had a group of good friends, she was involved in many projects at school. Not what you would expect from someone who did something like that."
The police added that Hale had no criminal records or mental health problems, and that they were in contact with her father.
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