The mother of the Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale apparently shared a number of gun control posts on social media prior to the devastating shooting.
Six individuals were killed after Hale - who police say was assigned female at birth but used 'he/him' pronouns on certain social media accounts - entered the Covenant School in Nashville and opened fire on Monday (March 27).
Following this, the nation is mourning the loss of Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney - all aged nine - Cynthia Peak, age 61, Katherine Koonce, age 60, and Mike Hill, age 61.
The Metro Nashville Police Department has confirmed that Hale gained access to the school building after shooting glass panes in a side door. Hale then opened fire on those inside, in an attack that lasted approximately 14 minutes, before being shot by police. Hale died at the scene.
Police say that although the attack on the school appears to have been calculated, none of the individual victims were targeted specifically by Hale. BBC News reports that Dr. Katherine Koonce was the head of Covenant, with one mother - who has two children enrolled at the private school - describing her as a "saint".
Another victim, Mike Hill, has been identified as one of the school's custodians. The man who hired him 13 years ago, Tim Dunavant - who is a pastor at Harstville First United Methodist Church - has said that he will miss Hill's "encouraging texts out of the blue".
Hale's mother Norma spoke briefly to ABC News on Monday about her daughter, stating: "It is very, very difficult right now," for their family, and that they are asking for privacy at this time. "I really can't talk right now, I think I lost my daughter today," she added. A neighbor of the family also described Hale to the outlet as both "very nice" and "very religious."
In 2022, Hale graduated from Nashville's Nossi College of Art & Design, with the school's president and CEO Cyrus Vatandoost explaining that Hale "was a talented artist and a good student. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, to the victims and their families, and to our city."
On a personal website, Hale had written: "Aside from art, I enjoy binging on video games, watching movies, and playing sports. There is a child-like part about me that loves to go run to the playground. Animals are my second passion, so I also enjoy spending time with my two cats."
According to The New York Post, Hale's mother appeared to be a gun control activist who was prolific in sharing anti-gun posts on Facebook. Sharing a petition to "Keep Guns Out of School" from the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation on March 8, 2018, she wrote: "So important!"
In a further post from February 21, 2018, Hale's mother reportedly shared another petition from Sandy Hook Promise urging lawmakers to "Make Large-Capacity Gun Magazines Illegal."
Our thoughts remain with the victims of this horrific incident.
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