At 10:13 am Monday the 27th, police received a call about an active shooter in The Covenant School. At 10:27, 14 minutes after the call came in, the shooter was dead. This is thanks to the amazing response time from the MNPD. About four minutes after police arrived, they killed the shooter. Unfortunately, even in only 14 minutes, 6 lives had also been claimed. To not give extra attention and glorify a school shooter like the media often does, the shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, will be barely talked about. This article will focus on the innocent victims and the tragic event that unfolded.
This school shooting was a targeted attack against The Covenant School. Police found a manifesto and a detailed map of the school while looking through her car and house. It has not been released yet if any of the victims were targeted. She also planned on going to a local mall, which is presumed by the public to be the Green Hills Mall because of the close proximity to the school, and was planning on going to another school but ultimately decided that there was too much security. However, police have yet to release who the other possible target was. Her motive has yet to be released due to the FBI looking into the manifesto she wrote. The shooter was a past student at Covenant, and it’s been unclear if that was a factor in the motive. This shooting is being looked into as a hate crime against Christians.
The Victims
Six lives were taken, not including the shooter’s, making this the deadliest school shooting since Uvlade, TX last May. The victims were Evelyn Dieckhaus (9), Hallie Scruggs (9), William Kinney (9), Cynthia Peak (61), Katherine Koonce (60), and Mike Hill (61). Evelyn Dieckhaus was trying to pull the fire alarm to warn everyone about the shooter and has been deemed a hero for her actions. Her parents have come out and said, “Evelyn was a shining light in this world.” Hallie Scruggs was the daughter of Covenant Presbyterian Church Lead Pastor Chad Scruggs and was well-loved in the community. Her aunt said that she had a “love for life” that bounded through her, from her smile to her “always on the go” spirit. On the GoFundme page for William Kinney, a family friend described him as “unfailingly kind, gentle when the situation called for it, quick to laugh, and always inclusive of others. He loved his sisters, adored his parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, and was always excited to host friends of every age. Sweet Will knew no strangers.” Cynthia Peak was a substitute teacher for Covenant and had a close relationship with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s wife Maria. Katherine Koonce was the head of Covenant and gave her life trying to protect students and faculty. She ran out of her Zoom meeting to confront the shooter and the police stated that the way she was found showed that she confronted the shooter. She was been deemed a hero for her heroic act. Her former co-worker described her as having a “great sense of humor and was confident. Koonce exhibited humility and made each person she interacted with feel important.” Mike Hill was the custodian at Covenant for 14 years. He was a father of 7 and grandfather of 14. His family said that “he took great pleasure and found tremendous joy in his job and through those students.”
What was the timeline?
*According to timestamps from surveillance cameras in the school
**According to timestamps from body cams
9:53 am*
Shooter pulls into the school
9:57 am
Former teammate of the shooter receives an ominous DM from the shooter. (pictured down below)
10:11 am*
Shooter shoots multiple rounds through a side door. This was how she was able to enter the school.
10:13
911 receives the first call about an active shooter in Covenant
10:20 am*
Shooter is seen walking through the hallways passing by the Children’s Ministry
10:21 am
First responding officers, including Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo, arrive at the school.
10:23 am**
First five officers enter the building.
10:24 am**
Team of five officers arrive on the second floor following the sound of gunfire.
10:25 am**
Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo engage with shooter, who is shooting out a window
10:27 am
Shooter is officially declared dead.
Some time after her death the students were transported to a reunification center at Woodmont Baptist Church
Why is this shooting so unexpected?
There were many factors that made this shooting so unique. First off, the shooter was a female, and according to Statista, since 1982 out of the 141 mass killings there have been only 4 other incidents where the shooter was a female. Also, Covenant is an elementary school, and according to K-12 School Shooting Database, since 1970, elementary school shooters have taken up 14.3% of all school shootings. Covenant is in Green Hills, which is known as a safe neighborhood making this even more shocking.
The importance of the quick response time from police
The quick response time from these heroic officers is a huge deal. Not only did their quick response time most likely save many more lives, but it also set a precedent on how active shooter responses should be. MNPD was able to learn from the mistakes of Uvalde and became more prepared for how to deal with situations. Unlike Uvalde, whose response time took 77 minutes, MNPD took about 4 minutes from when they arrived at the campus to when the shooter was down. Hopefully, this will inspire more police training on how to deal with these situations all across the country, because this shows how beneficial and critical training is.
Gofundme’s
Evelyn Diechaus: https://gofund.me/562c89bf
Mike Hill: https://gofund.me/ea946861
Hallie Scruggs: https://gofund.me/be2be5bf
Link directly from Covenant School’s Website: https://www.cfmt.org/story/support-survivors-of-the-covenant-school-shooting/
Work cited:
- McKenna Adams
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