Audrey Hale felt no hatred in opposition to anybody on the college the place the previous pupil gunned down six individuals. Actually, the 28-year-old relished fond reminiscences of The Covenant College and wished “to die someplace that made her comfortable,” Nashville police mentioned.
“Hale bore no grudge in opposition to the varsity or workers” and thought of them to be “‘innocents’ and victims on par with herself,” the Metropolitan Nashville Police Division mentioned.
The revelation got here in a trove of latest particulars launched in a report by Nashville police Wednesday – two years after Hale randomly slaughtered three lecturers and three 9-year-old kids on the personal Christian college.
Shortly after the bloodbath on March 27, 2023, Hale was gunned down by police – leaving myriad questions in regards to the inexplicable killings that remained unanswered till now.
After conducting interviews and reviewing Hale’s digital units, on-line accounts, art work and writings, detectives managed to piece collectively the killer’s preparation and motivation behind the ugly assault.
Notoriety was the motive
Hale attended The Covenant College within the early 2000s, from kindergarten via fourth grade. The previous pupil denied struggling any emotional or bodily abuse throughout this era, investigators mentioned within the report obtained by CNN.
“She felt secure and accepted at The Covenant and made pals with different college students,” the report mentioned. “She thought-about her household life throughout this time as comfortable, with a optimistic relationship with each of her dad and mom and her brother.”
However greater than 16 years after leaving the varsity, Hale focused the beloved alma mater “because of the notoriety she would get hold of” and “as a result of she had a private connection to the varsity from earlier in her life and felt she needed to die someplace that made her comfortable,” police mentioned.
Whereas the killer “recognized as a male and used he/him as most well-liked pronouns,” Nashville police mentioned, “Underneath Tennessee legislation, an individual’s gender id should correspond with their organic intercourse or with info current on their certificates of reside delivery.”
Consequently, authorities described Hale as a feminine of their 40-plus-page report.
Investigators found Hale left “materials behind deliberately to be discovered and analyzed,” together with “her detailed plan to commit carnage in a faculty, with timelines, diagrams, and so forth.,” Nashville police mentioned.
“The publication of the writings would serve three functions: to doc her struggles along with her psychological well being; to point out how … her psychological well being situations helped her ‘to execute the proper plan’; and to point out others like her tips on how to greatest plan and perform an assault,” the investigative report states.
Within the days main as much as the assault, Hale began to switch writings onto a thumb drive so “they may very well be discovered and studied,” the report states.
“Notoriety was the motive,” the report abstract says. “It’s identified that Hale, and different mass shooters, studied materials from Columbine Excessive College previous to committing their assaults.”
Mourners pray whereas visiting a memorial for the victims killed at The Covenant College in Nashville in March 2023. – Cheney Orr/Reuters
Hale rated different mass shooters primarily based on the variety of individuals they murdered and thought of those that killed a low variety of individuals to be “amateurs” who weren’t worthy of respect, Nashville police mentioned. However Hale “made exceptions for these offenders with documented psychological well being histories exhibiting they’d critical psychological well being ailments or problems, as she believed they have been ‘too sick’ to formulate an efficient plan to kill an ample variety of victims.”
Hale wished books, documentaries and flicks “to be made about her life and her assault,” police mentioned. The killer additionally wished “her firearms to be positioned in a museum” and “wished her bed room to be left because it was when the assault occurred as a memorial to her.”
In an announcement Wednesday, households of the victims, in addition to kids who have been on the college the day of the taking pictures, mentioned, “There would by no means be closure after against the law like this. No phrases can diminish the depths of loss we really feel with out Evelyn, Hallie, William, Mike, Katherine, and Cindy.”
The shooter killed three 9-year-olds: Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. Three adults have been additionally fatally shot: Mike Hill, the varsity custodian; Katherine Koonce, the top of the varsity; and substitute instructor Cynthia Peak.
“No info can reduce the trauma and grief now we have been bearing the previous two years,” the assertion learn. “This report summarizes the truth we’ve been residing with, that this was actually a mindless crime dedicated by a deranged, egocentric, evil particular person who relished the killing of harmless kids. This report is bleak. We hope nobody else ever has to undergo this.”
Eric Osborne, an lawyer representing among the victims’ households, mentioned the findings set up “past a doubt that our authorized battle in opposition to the general public launch of the shooter’s evil materials is simply, applicable, and will silence any critics of our efforts.”
“Please keep in mind that there are actual kids and households who’re struggling and who won’t ever be the identical,” Osborne mentioned in an announcement. “Preserve your concentrate on the victims and survivors of that horrific day.”
The shooter carried stuffed animals subsequent to firearms the morning of the killings
Hale suffered from nervousness and social phobias, “which led to her self-isolating extra typically,” the investigative report mentioned.
“Her isolation and loneliness led Hale to start believing the one true pals she might speak in confidence to have been her stuffed animals, who she felt would by no means abandon her,” police mentioned.
“She assigned them names and personalities, took them along with her each time she travelled, and commenced creating cartoons and digital media, together with tales the place they demonstrated among the similar feelings she felt.”
Round 8 a.m. the morning of the killings, Hale left residence “carrying a big duffle bag which contained a number of firearms, ammunition for these firearms, tactical gear, and her stuffed animals,” the investigative report states.
Stuffed animals have been present in Hale’s automotive, which was left in The Covenant College’s car parking zone. – Metropolitan Nashville Police Division
“She additionally had along with her a backpack containing two notebooks and diverse gadgets. She loaded these baggage into her car” and drove to a neighborhood gun vary, authorities mentioned.
“As soon as there, she donned her tactical vest and affixed journal pouches to her belt. The vest was loaded with a number of spare magazines, an computerized knife, and different gear. She then assembled and loaded three totally different firearms. She then remained in her car within the car parking zone of the situation for over an hour and eventually left the situation at 9:33 a.m.”
Hale then went to The Covenant College round 9:53 a.m. and waited within the automotive for a number of minutes. “Throughout this time, Hale despatched a goodbye message to a pal via Instagram Messenger,” police mentioned.
“At roughly 10:09 a.m., she exited her car, slung two firearms round her neck and shoulders, and approached one of many west entrances to the constructing.”
Hale’s firearms included an AR-15 pistol, a semi-automatic AR pistol, a semi-automatic carbine rifle and a semi-automatic pistol.
After the lethal rampage, detectives searched Hale’s car and located a number of stuffed animals on the entrance passenger seat, “together with 5 absolutely loaded magazines containing 5.56mm ammunition,” police mentioned.
“Within the entrance passenger floorboard was a backpack. Contained in the backpack have been two notebooks containing handwriting and sketches, together with two thumb drives.”
Hale’s dad and mom and therapist tried to assist, however the shooter didn’t inform them every thing
Investigators decided Hale was sane, however proof instructed worsening nervousness, melancholy and rage.
Earlier than the bloodbath, Hale’s dad and mom assisted their baby “with acquiring psychological healthcare regardless of them not being legally required to take action,” police wrote.
However “Hale chronicled that she withheld info from suppliers to forestall her from being stopped,” authorities mentioned.
The killer typically wrote in regards to the stage of secrecy wanted to hold out the assault, together with withholding info from the therapist, taking steps to delete looking historical past, and concealing weapons and ammunition, police mentioned.
Although Hale’s “disappointments in relationships, profession aspirations, and independence fueled her melancholy, and although this melancholy made her extremely suicidal, this doesn’t clarify the assault,” police mentioned.
“As Hale wrote on a number of events, if suicide was her purpose then she would have merely killed herself,” the report states. “All through the writings and movies, Hale ceaselessly commented that her dying wanted to matter and be remembered.”
Investigators realized Hale felt persistent loneliness and disappointment.
“She felt deserted and ignored by these she longed to befriend and interact with romantically, which angered her greater than the rest,” the report says.
“She believed that by merely committing suicide, she can be rapidly forgotten and never even worthy of a footnote in historical past. She craved the notoriety Harris and Klebold attained following Columbine.”
This undated image of Audrey Hale was offered by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Division. – Metropolitan Nashville Police Division
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold have been the teenager gunmen who killed 13 individuals at Columbine Excessive College in Littleton, Colorado. The 1999 bloodbath has been cited as an inspiration for different college shooters within the many years since.
Hale targeted on how the Columbine killers’ “documented psychological well being historical past and societal views have been just like her personal and the way the notoriety they achieved following their deaths led them to changing into ‘gods,’” Nashville police mentioned.
Hale “sought to develop into a ‘god’ like Harris and Klebold by killing victims no person would neglect: kids.”
The killer admitted the victims have been harmless
Like Harris and Klebold, Hale “longed for her title and actions to be remembered lengthy after she was lifeless,” police mentioned.
“She overtly acknowledged none of these she would kill have been responsible of something and denied any private motivation for focusing on them,” Nashville police wrote. As an alternative, the killer “felt their deaths have been mandatory to provide her dying which means.”
“She wished her psychological well being to be a outstanding subject of debate and debate,” investigators mentioned.
“Most disturbingly, she wished the issues she left behind to be shared with the world so she might encourage and train others who have been ‘mentally disordered’ like her to plan and commit an assault of their very own.”
But Hale “typically complained how she didn’t know sufficient in regards to the psychological well being historical past or motives of most mass killers, as nothing was publicly documented concerning their struggles,” the stories says.
Nonetheless, “Hale felt she can be a failure if she killed lower than 10 individuals throughout the assault,” the report mentioned.
Hale took a guided tour of the varsity in 2021, claiming to be “an alum who wished to reminisce about her time in elementary college,” the report mentioned. In actuality, Hale was casing the varsity and “discreetly photographed totally different areas,” police mentioned.
CNN has reached out to the varsity for remark.
Lower than two years after that go to, Hale burst into her beloved former college wielding an assault-style rifle and gunned down six individuals.
This story has been up to date with extra info.
CNN’s Ray Sanchez and Karina Tsui contributed to this report.
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