The shooting at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee that killed three children and three adults should be investigated as a hate crime, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley said Tuesday.
“We need to be clear on what happened in Nashville. Police say shooting was ‘targeted,'” the Republican lawmaker tweeted. “That makes it a federal hate crime – against Christian children and teachers. Attacking victims based on religious affiliation is a hate crime. It should be investigated as such.”
“All federal resources needed must be deployed,” Hawley added in a follow-up tweet. “And those individuals or groups that have spread a hate message against the Christian community – leading to horrific violence here – must be held accountable.”
On Monday, an armed gunman rampaged at The Covenant School in Nashville, killing six people.
NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: OFFICERS WHO IDENTIFIED SUFFICIENT COVENATN SHUTTER
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., grills Colleen Shogan, nominated to become United States Archivist, on her Twitter feed during her confirmation hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee in Washington on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The victims were identified by police as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all aged 9, Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61. According to the school’s website, Koonce was Covenant’s principal.
The Covenant School, according to its website, is a private Christian institution for students through 6th grade.
Police named the shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 28-year-old Nashville resident who identified as transgender. Detectives investigated a residence associated with her. Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Hale may have prepared for the shooting, including by writing a manifesto.
“We also found that maps of the school had been drawn with detailed surveillance entry points. At one point she was a student at that school,” he said at a news conference Monday. “There was a vehicle nearby that gave us a clue as to who she was.”
NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: 6 KILLED INCLUDING 3 STUDENTS, GUNMAN DEAD
A police officer walks past an entrance to The Covenant School following a shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Police said Hale was a former student of the school.
The shooting began around 10:13 a.m. local time on Monday morning. According to police, Hale drove to the school parking lot in a Honda Fit. She was heavily armed with two AR-style weapons and a handgun, but was not wearing body armor.
Surveillance video released by Metropolitan Nashville Police showed Hale shooting her way to the church/school through a series of glass doors near a side entrance to the building.
MNPD officers Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo were among those who responded to the scene. They encountered Hale on the second floor of the school building and fatally shot her, ending the rampage.
SHOOTING IN TENNESSEE: NASHVILLE POLICE RELEASE SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE OF COVENANT SCHOOL ATTACK THAT KILLED 6
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake identified the two officers who shot and killed suspected school shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale on March 27, 2023. (Nashville Metro Police)
The responding officers neutralized the shooter within 15 minutes of the initial shots.
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The shooting is still under investigation and is being led by various MNPD components, with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the ATF and Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Anders Hagstrom, Lawrence Richard and Louis Casiano of Fox News contributed to this report.
Chris Pandolfo is a writer for Fox News Digital. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.
