Two Dead in Antioch High Shooting

Two students are dead and two are injured following a shooting at Antioch High School Wednesday morning. 

The Metro Nashville Police Department confirmed that a 17-year-old male student fired multiple shots in the cafeteria at 11:09 a.m. One female student was killed and another male student was wounded when a bullet grazed his arm. The shooter then fatally shot himself in the head. Another student was injured when he fell during the shooting.

Caiden Taylor, a senior at Antioch High School, was in a lunch line in the cafeteria when he heard five shots in quick succession. He tells reporter Hamilton Matthew Masters, who was on the scene early Wednesday afternoon, that he dropped to the floor and didn’t look back up. 

“I just ran out from the cafeteria through the exit … and I just went to my vehicle and just left,” Taylor says. “I heard it, I heard everything.” 

Taylor’s mother Stephanie Honeywell — who was waiting to be reunited with Taylor’s brother, another Antioch student — was among the roughly 200 parents waiting at the reunification site at Ascension Saint Thomas Medical Partners Antioch. There police were speaking to parents in both English and Spanish. There is a large Spanish-speaking population in the area.

Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville), who represents the area where the shooting took place, released a statement.

“My heart is broken over the devastating shooting at Antioch High School today,” says Oliver. “As a mother and a representative of this community, I grieve with the families, students, and staff who are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. My heart goes out to the victims who were shot, their loved ones, and everyone impacted by this horrific act of violence. No child should ever feel unsafe in their school, and no family should face the anguish of such a senseless loss.”

Ibtihal Cheko, a Nashville student involved with gun reform advocacy group Students Demand Action and one of the Scene’s 2023 Nashvillians of the Year, also shared a statement.

“No matter how desensitized America has become to school shootings, there’s nothing normal or okay about students being shot for going to class,” says Cheko, a volunteer leader from Hume Fogg High School with the Students Demand Action Tennessee chapter. “Our hearts are absolutely broken for everyone impacted by this tragedy. It doesn’t have to be this way. Tennessee lawmakers have played enough politics; it’s time to step up and address gun violence so we can go to school without getting shot.” 

On March 27, 2023, seven people were killed in a shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school in Green Hills. MNPD officers killed the shooter and were recently honored with a Medal of Valor by President Joe Biden for how they responded to the situation. Parents of some of the students created nonprofit organizations aimed at protecting children from gun violence. In August 2023, Gov. Bill Lee called a special session related to gun legislation in response to the Covenant Shooting, during which few provisions were passed.  

Update, 4:50 p.m.: The Metro Nashville Police Department announced via X that the victim was 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante, and the shooter’s name was Solomon Henderson.

During a press conference Wednesday, MNPD Chief John Drake said the department is still investigating a motive for the shooting, including using some “materials on the internet.” Reporters asked if the shooter had livestreamed the shooting on social media, to which Drake responded, “The investigation is very much ongoing, so we're unsure at this time if it was targeted or if it was intended for multiple people.” Drake said the student retrieved a weapon from the restroom after arriving at school, but did not confirm how he got the gun.

Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Adrienne Battle pointed out safety measures that the school had implemented, adding that suggested stationary metal detectors had limitations and unintended consequences, but the organization is still considering additional security measures. The school will be closed for the rest of the week.

“Over the years, we have implemented a range of safety measures, including partnership with the MNPD through our school resource officer program — shatter-resistant film, security cameras with weapon detection software and security vestibules," said Battle. "Unfortunately, these measures were not enough to stop this tragedy.”

“As a city, as a community, it is impossibly difficult to be here once again dealing with the devastation of gun violence in one of our school communities,” added Mayor Freddie O’Connell.