A shooting at a Nashville school on Monday morning resulted in the deaths of at least three adults and three children, said police, reported news agency AFP. After a confrontation with police on the second floor of the school, the female shooter also died. According to Nashville police, the shooter appeared to be in her teens but has not yet been identified. She was armed with a handgun and two assault rifles.
On Twitter, the Nashville Fire Department stated that there are "multiple patients," but the conditions of those patients were not immediately available. Students at The Covenant School rushed to safety and held hands as they made their way to a nearby church to see their parents after the shooting.
In a tweet, Metro Nashville Police said that officers "engaged" the shooter, who later died. Whether the shooter committed suicide or was shot by police was not immediately clear.
"An active shooter event has taken place at Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, on Burton Hills Dr. The shooter was engaged by MNPD and is dead," police said on Twitter.
According to AP, without providing any specifics, the fire department stated that they responded to an "active aggressor." At this time, additional information regarding the shooting was unavailable.
According to the school's website, the Covenant School was established in 2001 as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church and now has approximately 200 preschool through sixth grade students enrolled.
The school is in the affluent Green Hill neighborhood, which is south of downtown Nashville. It is close to the city's best universities and the famous Bluebird Café, which is a favorite spot for musicians and songwriters.
"Praying for the children and their families who were shooting victims at the Covenant School," the House Democratic Caucus of Tennessee said in a statement, quoted BBC.
Chairman John Ray Clemmons stated, "Our thoughts are with the families of the entire school community and surrounding neighbourhood."
A Nashville mayoral candidate named Freddie O'Connell stated that Nashville has "joined the communities that have experienced a school shooting."
From 2023 to March 23, 12 school shootings in the United States killed or injured students, according to Education Week data.