A sense of «resentment» may have played a role in the deadly attack by a 28-year-old on the private Christian school he attended, Nashville police said Monday.
The shooter, Audrey Hale, a Nashville resident, had no criminal record before opening fire at The Covenant School, killing three children and three adults, authorities said.
«There’s some belief that there was some resentment about having to go to that school,» Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake told NBC News’ Lester Holt.
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Hale had carefully planned the attack with detailed maps and surveillance, police said.
While the shooter could have targeted The Covenant School, Drake stopped short of saying that Hale was going after specific people. There were also indications that Hale had planned to target other locations, Drake told NBC News.
Covenant school principal Katherine Koonce, 60, was among the dead.
«She targeted random students at the school … whoever she was in contact with, she shot,» Drake said, referring to the shooter.
Hale shot open a locked door to gain entry to the school, authorities said.
The former student is alleged to have left writings that were being studied by local and federal investigators.
“We have some writing that we are reviewing that pertains to this date, the actual incident,” Drake told reporters hours after the shooting. «We have a drawn map of how all this was going to happen.»
He said Hale was transgender.
Officials «feel that she identifies as trans, but we’re still in the initial investigation of all of that and whether she really played a role in this incident,» Drake said.
Former school principal Bill Campbell said he remembered Hale as a third grader in 2005 and a fourth grader in 2006, citing the yearbooks he keeps.
«It’s just an absolute tragedy what happened to the former student and what it did to the teachers and students,» Campbell said.
Hale was not listed as a student in the fifth or sixth grade yearbooks, so Campbell said he believes Hale transferred after fourth grade.
“I reviewed my annual reports and I remember her as a former student,” the former principal said. “She was just one of our ladies. … She was just a typical co-ed. A typical student.
Campbell couldn’t recall any problems Hale might have had at the time that might have raised red flags.
“I think about this student and our relationship at the time she was there, there was nothing extraordinary and unusual,” the former school administrator said. «She was loved and appreciated as were all of our students.»
Hale arrived at the school Monday with two AR-style weapons and a handgun, Drake said.
Two of those three guns were obtained legally in the Nashville area, he added.
Hale was confronted by five officers and two of them opened fire, killing the attacker, authorities said.
A car near the scene helped police determine who the shooter was, and investigators were searching Hale’s home, he said.
Police tactical units were seen using a grenade-like device to enter the residence, which is listed as Hale’s home.
“This is a big family and it is a tragedy,” said a neighbor.
There were no responses Monday afternoon at several phone numbers listed for Hale’s mother and brother.
Drake praised his officers for taking on the shooter immediately.
“It could have been much, much worse,” he said.
Hale’s writings also indicated that The Covenant School was not the killer’s only target, authorities said.
“It indicates that there were going to be shootings at various locations, and the school was one of them,” Drake told NBC News.
The officers prevented more deaths thanks to their quick work, Nashville Mayor John Cooper said.
“Let’s praise our first responders, 14 minutes, 14 minutes, I think under fire, running towards the shots,” Cooper told reporters.