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Nashville school shooting: Six killed by female shooter in Tennessee Nashville school shooting: Six killed by female shooter in Tennessee
(about 1 hour later)
Watch: Police says the Nashville suspect was a female armed with assault weaponsWatch: Police says the Nashville suspect was a female armed with assault weapons
Watch: Police says the Nashville suspect was a female armed with assault weaponsWatch: Police says the Nashville suspect was a female armed with assault weapons
Six people including three children have been killed in a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, according to local authorities. A 28-year-old woman has shot dead six people inside a school in the US city of Nashville.
The attack took place on Monday at a private Christian school which teaches children up to around 12 years old. Three of the victims were pupils at the privately run Christian school. The three others were employees.
Nashville police said they engaged and killed the shooter, a 28-year-old woman who may have been a former student. The suspect - believed to be a former pupil - was armed with at least two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, say police. 
Mass shootings committed by women are far more rare than those committed by men, according to crime statistics. The shooter was herself shot dead by police after an attack that unfolded over around 14 minutes.
The dead include three children, three staff members and the shooter, officials said in a news conference. All three of the children that died were nine years old.
The suspect was carrying two "assault-type" rifles and at least one pistol, which has been recovered at the scene. Her identity remains unclear. They were named by police as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney.
The Covenant School in Nashville, where the incident took place, has about 200 students, the youngest of them pre-school age. Local media reported that it implemented an "active shooter" programme in 2022. Other victims include Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61.
Nashville Police Chief John Drake said initial findings indicate the attacker may have been a former student at the school. He said the findings are based on "clues" found inside a nearby parked car. The shooter was identified by police as Audrey Hale.
Investigators do not yet know how she entered the campus. Police began receiving calls at 10:13 on Monday morning about a shooter at Covenant School.
One police officer was wounded by cut glass while responding to the incident, police said. Two officers who entered the building went towards the sound of gunfire and encountered the shooter on the school's second floor, where they fatally shot her.
The entire attack lasted around 14 minutes.
The school teaches pupils from pre-school up until about 12 years oldThe school teaches pupils from pre-school up until about 12 years old
Parents were told to gather at a nearby church to be reunited with their children. Responding officers reported hearing gunfire coming from the building's second floor, police said.
In a statement, Nashville Mayor John Cooper said the city has "joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting". Five officers entered the building and went towards the sound of gunfire. Two found the suspect on the school's second floor and fatally shot her.
One officer was injured by broken glass during the operation.
The suspect was pronounced dead by 10:27. It is unknown how she entered the campus.
Nashville Police Chief John Drake said "clues" found inside a nearby parked car indicate that she may have once attended the school.
The school has about 200 students, and teaches pupils from three years old up to around 12.
Local media reported that the school implemented an "active shooter" programme last year.
Parents have been gathering at a nearby church to be reunited with their children.
As buses of children arrived from the school, they hung their heads and hands out of the windows to wave to their parents, according to the Tennessean newspaper.
An ambulance stands near Nashville's Covenant School as children are escorted away
In a statement, Nashville Mayor John Cooper said the city had "joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting".
"My heart goes out to the families of the victims," Mr Cooper added. "Our entire city stands with you.""My heart goes out to the families of the victims," Mr Cooper added. "Our entire city stands with you."
President Joe Biden called the shooting a "family's worst nightmare".President Joe Biden called the shooting a "family's worst nightmare".
"We have to do more to stop gun violence," he said, calling on Congress to pass gun control laws."We have to do more to stop gun violence," he said, calling on Congress to pass gun control laws.
"It is ripping our communities apart, and ripping the very soul of this nation.""It is ripping our communities apart, and ripping the very soul of this nation."
An ambulance stands near Nashville's Covenant School as children are escorted away The attack was America's 129th mass shooting of 2023, according to Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks gun violence data.
According to data compiled by Education Week, there were 12 school shootings in 2023 up until 23 March that have resulted in deaths or injuries in the US. According to data compiled by Education Week, there have been 12 school shootings that have resulted in deaths or injuries in the US this year up until the end of last week.
FBI data shows that of 61 mass shootings that took place in 2021 - the last year for which data is available - only one involved a female suspect. Of 345 incidents from 2000 to 2019, only 13 involved female shooters. Mass shootings committed by women are far rarer than those committed by men, according to crime statistics.
FBI data shows that of 61 mass shootings that took place in 2021 - the last year for which data is available - only one involved a female suspect. Of 345 incidents from 2000-19, only 13 involved female shooters.
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NashvilleNashville
TennesseeTennessee
United StatesUnited States