Shooter Audrey Hale listed pros and cons in journal before Covenant School attack

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Newly released investigative records shed further light on the planning behind the 2023 shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, that left six people dead.

Journal entries obtained by the FBI show that the shooter considered multiple potential targets years before the attack.

A separate investigative report from the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) outlined the shooter’s motivations, mental health history and long-term planning process.

Authorities concluded that the attack was carried out alone and was aimed at achieving lasting notoriety.

Investigators say shooter weighed potential targets before attack 

According to journal entries released by the FBI, Audrey Hale considered attacking IT Creswell Middle School, which Hale attended between fifth and eighth grades, before ultimately choosing The Covenant School. 

In an entry dated around 2021, Hale listed what were described as “advantages” and “disadvantages” of targeting Creswell, referring to it as a “1st choice” at the time.

Among the reasons Hale cited for rejecting Creswell was that it was a “(Predominantly) black school (black people I love).”

Hale also wrote that carrying out an attack there could cause harm to a community already experiencing “despair (and) suffering,” adding, “I don’t want to cause that.”

Another concern listed was that “Black friends (and) black community will hate me.” Hale also wrote that there were fears that killing Black students would likely “influence rasist (sic) white shooters in future.”

Hale later identified The Covenant School, a private Christian elementary school, as a target.

In the writings, Hale described the school as a “predominantly white school” and wrote, “White people I hate!”

Hale also noted hostility toward religion and referenced familiarity with the building’s layout from having attended the school between kindergarten and fourth grade.

Following the March 27, 2023, attack, Hale’s parents told police that Hale felt accepted during the time spent at Creswell, particularly while playing basketball on a mostly Black team.

“Felt accepted,” Hale’s mother told detectives.

Police claim motive driven by notoriety and not grievance 

In an investigative report, the MNPD concluded that Hale, who was 28 at the time of the shooting, was motivated by a desire to give meaning to death and be remembered.

Hale entered The Covenant School shortly after 10 am on March 27, 2023, carrying three loaded firearms and wearing a tactical vest.

Over roughly 14 minutes, Hale killed three students, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs, and three adults, Michael Hill, Dr Katherine Koonce and Cynthia Peak.

Hale was shot and killed by responding officers.

Police said Hale “bore no grudge against the school or staff” and viewed the victims as “innocents.”

The report stated that Hale selected the school because it was considered a soft target and would ensure widespread attention.

“Hale longed for her name and actions to be remembered long after she was dead,” investigators wrote, adding that Hale expected books and documentaries would follow the attack.

The report also detailed a long history of mental health struggles, including diagnoses of major depressive disorder, anxiety and social phobias.