The Metro Nashville Police Department released on Wednesday its final report on the 2023 Covenant School Shooting, which the department calls a “planned, calculated attack” by a killer seeking “notoriety.”
The MNPD's 48-page report comes with the closure of the criminal investigation, which, in short, states that 28-year-old Audrey Hale planned and acted alone in the killing of six people — children Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs and adults Michael Hill, Katherine Koonce and Cynthia Peak — on March 27, 2023, at the Green Hills private school and church campus.
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“The murders are being cleared by exception due to death of the offender, Audrey Hale, who was fatally shot inside the Covenant building by responding MNPD officers,” reads an April 2 release. “Importantly, the District Attorney’s Office, which has been regularly kept informed of this investigation over the past two years, has reviewed the report and has determined that no criminal charges will be placed against anyone in connection with the Covenant case.”
The shooting sparked local and national outrage, and saw the formation of anti-violence nonprofits by some Covenant School parents as well as ongoing discussions around school threats and safety. The two-year criminal investigation was also marred by a leak of some of the shooter’s writings and a lawsuit over public access to the complete writings.
The report concludes that the shooter had no accomplices, stating "no evidence was found to suggest anyone other than Audrey Hale took any part in the planning, preparation, or execution of the murders at The Covenant."
Key Findings From Report
Police say Hale intentionally left evidence behind to be analyzed and publicized, and that Hale wanted to be the subject of books and movies, hoping that the act would be memorialized and inspire other killers. The MNPD determined that Hale was “sane” at the time of the attack and received no material support or assistance, and that Hale “bore no grudge against the school or staff” and “considered them as ‘innocents’ and victims on par with herself.”
Police say Hale chose the school in part because it was a soft target that the shooter was personally connected to, adding that Hale “felt she had to die somewhere that made her happy.” The report says there was no "personal history between Hale and any of those she killed or harmed during the attack" and that Hale targeted children to increase the shooter’s own renown.
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Hale became “fascinated” with mass killers in writings that referenced past mass shootings, including the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. Hale called the Columbine killers “gods” and wanted to join their ranks, the report says, but also “saw herself as a victim in the attack.”
Evidence Recovered
In addition to the 9-millimeter carbine, 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun and 5.56-millimeter AR-style pistol that Hale used in the attack, police recovered and analyzed numerous notebooks, sketchbooks, videos, laptop computers, cellphones and thumb drives, as well as a middle school yearbook and an iPod. They also analyzed cloud data and social media accounts belonging to Hale.
In a section titled “What She Didn’t Leave Behind,” police say Hale did not create a “manifesto” that clearly detailed a motive or plans.
“In this case, a manifesto didn’t exist. … No single document, notebook, or digital device contains the answer to those questions. The answer is scattered throughout all the assembled material, which required a careful review of the material to understand Hale’s motive.”
Hale’s Background
Hale attended the Covenant School from 2001 to 2006 — from kindergarten through fourth grade — and “considered these years the happiest of her childhood.” Hale then attended Isaac T. Creswell Middle Magnet School for the Arts, and graduated from Nashville School of the Arts in 2014. In 2022, Hale earned a bachelor's degree in graphic design from Nossi College of Art.
Hale had no criminal history, and the shooter’s only known prior interaction with police occurred a week before the attack when Hale was questioned as a witness in an accidental firearm discharge at a Gallatin shooting range.
Hale openly identified as a lesbian and wasn't in a relationship. In the years before the attack, Hale also identified as a male who used he/him pronouns, using the name “Aiden Williams” and expressing an interest in transitioning from female to male. Police refer to Hale as a female throughout the report, and write that her autopsy "determined she was a biologically female."
Hale had numerous mental health struggles and experienced developmental delays as a child, but was not found to have an autism spectrum disorder, per a 2001 mental health assessment. Hale began seeing a therapist In 2011 and an “assessment concluded Hale suffered from major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobias, anger-management issues, and was underdeveloped both emotionally and socially.” By 2017, “stresses of college and her increasing loneliness and despair began to affect Hale’s weight,” and she attended a six-week eating disorder clinic.
In 2019, Hale took part in an eight-week intensive outpatient program for mental health following statements in therapy about suicidal ideation and homicidal thoughts. Hale began seeing a new therapist in fall 2019, and started legally purchasing guns in 2020.
Police say that in 2021, Hale's mother became concerned about Hale’s purchasing of guns and interest in the Columbine High School shooting. She brought up the issue with Hale's therapist and convinced Hale to sell the guns, but Hale later purchased more.
Hale was assessed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center but wasn't hospitalized and began seeing a new therapist.
Planning and Launching the Attack
Hale postponed the attack numerous times before settling on March 27, 2023. The report details that in 2018, Hale also began “actively planning” an attack on Creswell Middle, though those plans were abandoned in 2020. Hale also explored other schools as potential targets.
Hale focused on the Covenant School in 2021 and conducted reconnaissance of both Covenant and Creswell, as well other potential attack sites including the Mall at Green Hills and Opry Mills mall. In September 2021, Hale visited Covenant and attempted to get a tour of the school.
Hale trained with firearms at Royal Range and in wooded areas near Nashville, and practiced shooting at the range just before the attack, which began at 10:10 a.m. At 10:24 a.m., police shot and killed Hale in the building's second-floor lobby.
The entire 48-page report can be viewed below.
