The shooter, who killed six people including three children at a school in Nashville on Monday, bought seven guns legally and hid them at his parent's home, as reported by BBC. Six people, including three children aged nine, were killed in the attack at the Covenant School.
The Nashville police department released a video of the shooter. In the video, shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale could be seen firing at the entry door to make her way inside the building. Hale then enters the premises brandishing a gun and roaming inside the school.
The Shooter Hid Guns At Parents' House
According to the investigators, the attacker's parents felt that he should not own weapons and did not realise that the guns had been concealed in their house. The parents of the shooter thought the suspect had owned only one gun and that too had been sold. They were unaware the suspect had been "hiding several weapons within the house", Nashville Police Chief John Drake said on Tuesday. The weapons were purchased from five shops around the city.
Suffering From Emotional Disorder.
According to the police, the former student of a Christian grade school in Nashville was under “doctor’s care and was suffering from an emotional disorder”. Hale "was under care, a doctor's care, for an emotional disorder," the chief told reporters, reported news agency Reuters.
Hale Warned His Friend Minutes Before Attack
The attacker had warned a friend minutes before the attack that something bad was about to happen.
Averianna Patton said the suspect had sent her messages on Instagram in which they were talking about not wanting to live anymore and said that their family was not aware of what they were about to do.
In the first message, Hale signed it as "Audrey (Aiden)," according to Sky News.
Patton said that she saw the messages less than 20 minutes before the police said that they were informed about the attack at the school. In the last message, Hale asked for forgiveness and said that something bad was going to happen.
Patton, who was a former basketball team-mate of Hale's at Isaiah T Creswell Middle School, said the messages were alarming and called a suicide prevention hotline but it was too late to stop Hale from carrying out the attack, as reported by Sky News.
"I'm trying to still understand... Just to learn that I received a message before, it's just like, wow," Patton told NBC News. "Just pray, just pray."