The shooter was described as a ‘lone zealot’ who had planned the attack
The chilling moment a US school shooter stalked through a building armed with two assault rifles in an attack that claimed six lives, has been released.
The victims, three children and staff, were killed at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, when Audrey Hale, opened fire around 10.13am on Monday. The 28-year-old is believed to be a former student of the private Christian school.
Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all nine, were killed along with Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61.
Hale was armed with three guns, including a semi-automatic rifle, and was shot dead by police by police at the scene at 10.27am.
Video released by Nashville police shows Hale using a gun to gain entry to the school by shattering glass panes on the front doors, then wandering through the school’s corridors.
In the CCTV footage, Hale is wearing what looks to be a protective vest and carrying an assault-style rifle in one hand, with a second, similar weapon also visible hanging from the left hip.
Authorities described Hale as a “lone zealot” who had written a manifesto ahead of the attack. A detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, was found at her house along with two other guns. She identified as transgender, reports said.
The attack was described as “calculated and planned”.
After arriving at the school, Hale is seen in the CCTV footage, wearing a red hat, what appears to be a tactical vest, and carrying weapons, as she searches for victims.
Officers located Hale on the second floor of the school and shot her dead.
Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said: “We have a manifesto, we have some writings we’re going over that pertain to this day, the actual incident.
“We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.
“There’s right now a theory that we may be able to talk about later but it’s not confirmed, and so we’ll put that out as soon as we can.”
The Mirror reported that the mother of the woman identified as the shooter had previously campaigned to prevent mass shootings in schools. She had urged her friends to sign petitions, to ‘Keep Guns Out of Schools’ and ‘Make large-capacity gun magazines illegal’ on her Facebook page.
MailOnline noted that America is on course for having the bloodiest year yet, as Nashville attack brings the total up to 129 this year. It also noted that it was the deadliest of the year, to date, and just one of five, to have a female attacker.
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