The heavily armed attacker at Nashville school, a former student, who killed six including three children came with a careful planning to attack the private elementary school, before being shot by the police. 


As per a report by AFP, Chief of Police John Drake named the suspect as Audrey Hale, 28, who the officer later said identified as transgender. 


According to the police officer, Hale came with a manifesto, maps of the school with details of surveillance and entry-exit points and was “prepared for a confrontation with law enforcement”. 


Suspect’s Shooting Plot 


He said the suspect was likely plotting a bigger attack as the manifesto “indicates that there was going to be shootings at multiple locations, and the school was one of them."


Hale entered the The Covenant School, a Christian academy, with at least two assault rifles and a handgun from a side entrance and allegedly shot through a door, firing multiple shots while advancing through the building, as per the police. 


There was confusion regarding the gender identity of the suspect as officials addressed her as “she” and “her” while a LinkedIn profile appeared to identify Hale as a man. Drake later identified the suspect as transgender.


Three Children, Three Adults Killed In Shooting 


Of the three children killed in the attack, one was eight years old and two were aged nine, while the adults were aged 60 to 61. One of the victims, identified as Katherine Koonce, is listed as head of the school on the academy’s website, as per AFP report. 


‘Ton Of Relief’ 


Avery Myrick said she had a “ton of relief” when she heard her mother was safe, who is a pre-kindergarten teacher at Covenant as she hid herself while the shots rang through out the school. 


“She said she was hiding in the closet, and that there was shooting all over and that they had potentially tried to get into her room, and just that she loved us," Myrick told a news channel. 


"But you know, you're still hurting for the people out there who might not get that call," she said.


Television footage showed children holding hands as they left school and one searing photograph showed a child sobbing through the window of her yellow school bus as it pulled away from the crime scene, stated the report. 


Biden Calls Shooting ‘Sick’ 


Reacting to the latest incident of mass shooting in his country, President Joe Biden called it “sick” and said gun violence was tearing the nation's "soul," as he urged Congress to pass a ban on the assault weapons often used in mass shootings.


"It's ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation," he said.