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Nashville school shooting: Six killed by female shooter in Tennessee Nashville school shooting: Six killed by 28-year-old shooter in Tennessee
(30 minutes 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
A 28-year-old woman has shot dead six people inside a school in the US city of Nashville. Six people have been killed in a school shooting in the US city of Nashville, Tennessee.
Three of the victims were pupils at the privately run Christian school. The three others were employees. Three of the victims were pupils aged nine or under at Covenant School, a privately run Christian school.
The suspect - believed to be a former pupil - was armed with at least two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, say police. 
The shooter was herself shot dead by police after an attack that unfolded over around 14 minutes.
All three of the children that died were nine years old.
They were named by police as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney.They were named by police as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney.
Other victims include Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61. The adults victims were employees and named as Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61.
The shooter was identified by police as Audrey Hale. Covenant School has about 200 students, and teaches pupils from three years old up to around 12.
Police began receiving calls at 10:13 on Monday morning about a shooter at Covenant School. Police named the suspect as a 28-year-old woman named Audrey Hale, who identified as transgender.
Hale was armed with at least two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, and was shot dead by police.
Nashville Police Chief John Drake said the shooter had conducted surveillance, and that maps of the building showing entry and exit points were found at a nearby home.
Police received the first call about the incident at 10:13 local time on Monday morning.
All the doors at the school were locked, and police said the suspect got in by firing through one of the doors of the building.
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
Responding officers reported hearing gunfire coming from the building's second floor, police said. Hale fired shots on the ground floor before moving to the building's second floor, and was shot dead in a confrontation with police at 10.27. One officer was injured by broken glass during the operation.
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. A search of a nearby parked car had led officers to "firmly believe" that Hale was a former student of the school.
One officer was injured by broken glass during the operation. In the hours that followed the shooting, parents gathered at a nearby church to be reunited with their children. As buses of children arrived, they hung their heads and hands out of the windows to wave to their parents, according to the Tennessean newspaper.
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 awayAn 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".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." The attack was America's 129th mass shooting of 2023, according to Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit that tracks gun violence data.
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 have been 12 school shootings that have resulted in deaths or injuries in the US this year up until the end of last week.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.
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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US gun violenceUS gun violence
NashvilleNashville
TennesseeTennessee
United StatesUnited States