Nashville Shooting Updates: Death Toll Rises in Covenant School Shooting

Three children and three adults died Monday following a shooting by a female suspect at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, police said.

"An active shooter event has taken place at Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, on Burton Hills Dr.," the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said in a tweet at noon.

"The shooter was engaged by MNPD and is dead. Student reunification with parents is at Woodmont Baptist Church, 2100 Woodmont Blvd," the tweet added.

During a press conference Monday, Don Aaron, the MNPD's director of media relations, confirmed that the six victims were three children and three adults. Police said they were in the process of identifying all six. Police later updated with the names of those who were killed.

The three children who were killed were identified as 9-year-olds Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney. Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61, were also killed. Koonce is identified on the school's website as the head of the school.

According to Aaron, police are working on determining the deceased shooter's name and any other information about her. An MNPD tweet later identified the suspect as a 28-year-old Nashville woman.

Additionally, police confirmed that the shooter had possessed two assault-style rifles as well as one handgun.

Newsweek reached out by email to the MNPD and the Nashville Fire Department for more information. The Nashville Fire Department had confirmed on Twitter that it was responding to the shooting, saying, "We can confirm we have multiple patients."

Newsweek also reached out by phone to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt for additional information. The three children were pronounced dead at the hospital, according to The New York Times.

During the press conference, Aaron said that at around 10:13 a.m. local time, the MNPD received calls about an "active shooter" inside Covenant School. Officers arrived shortly afterward and began clearing the school's first floor. By 10:27 a.m. local time, the shooter was dead, Aaron said.

Kendra Loney, a public information officer for the Nashville Fire Department, said Monday that officials initially transported three children and two adults to nearby hospitals.

"All of the remaining students were able to be escorted out of the building with faculty and staff," Loney said.

She continued: "We were on scene to help them mitigate anyone from seeing exactly what else was going on, but we're sure they heard the chaos that was surrounding this. So we do have mental health specialists and professionals that are at that reunification site for both the students and the families that are going to be affected by this today."

In 2023, there were 33 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, according to Everytown Research and Policy. Among those, at least 25 people were injured and eight were killed, the organization said.

Update, 3/27/23, 2:22 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional background and information.

Update, 3/27/23, 5:07 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with the names of the victims.