Three children and three adults shot dead by woman, 28, in Nashville school attack named

Police said the 28-year-old woman who killed six pupils and staff members had drawn up a map detailing how the attack would take place, as Cari Davies reports

A woman wielding two "assault-style" rifles, who killed three children and three adults at a school in Nashville, drew up a "manifesto" ahead of the shooting.

Police identified the shooter as 28-year-old Audrey Hale from Nashville, who was killed at the scene.

Authorities believe she was a former student at The Covenant School, a private Presbyterian school for about 200 students from ages four to 11, where the shooting took place.

The victims were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all eight or nine years old, and adults Katherine Koonce, aged 60, Cynthia Peak and Mike Hill, both aged 61.

President Joe Biden condemned the attack, saying gun violence is "ripping at the soul" of the US.Police said the shooter had drawn a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, and done surveillance before launching her attack.

Investigators said they had found a "manifesto" belonging to the shooter but declined to share their theory about the motive.

“We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this date, the actual incident,” said Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake at a news conference.

“We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.”

The victims were pronounced dead upon arrival at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, according to Craig Boerner, a spokesperson for Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

“I was literally moved to tears to see this and the kids as they were being ushered out of the building,” added Mr Drake.

The shooting lasted around 14 minutes on Monday morning, with police saying they received an emergency call at 10.13am.

Five officers quickly arrived at the scene, with two encountering Hale on the second floor of the building and shooting her at 10.27am.

The fact the suspect is a woman is unusual. It is believed between 5% to 8% of mass shooters in the US are female.

The killings come as communities around the US are reeling from a spate of school violence, including the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last year and an incident where a young child shot his teacher in Virginia.President Joe Biden, speaking at an unrelated event at the White House on Monday, called the shooting a “family’s worst nightmare” and implored Congress again to pass a ban on certain semi-automatic weapons.

“It’s ripping at the soul of this nation, ripping at the very soul of this nation,” Mr Biden said.

Other students were walked away from the scene holding hands as they left their school surrounded by police cars, to a nearby church to reunite with their parents.

Rachel Dibble, who was at the church as families reunited in the nearby church, described the scene as everyone being in "complete shock."

"People were involuntarily trembling," said Ms Dibble, whose children attend a different private school in Nashville.

"The children… started their morning in their cute little uniforms they probably had some Froot Loops and now their whole lives changed today."

Police officers with rifles, heavy vests and helmets could be seen walking through the school parking lot and around the grassy perimeter of the building Monday morning.

The Covenant School was founded as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in 2001, according to the school’s website.

The school is located in the affluent Green Hill neighbourhood of Nashville.

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