By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-04-03 17:11:39 | Updated at 2025-04-04 23:25:11
1 day ago
A transgender mass shooter who slaughtered six at a Christian elementary school had no friends except for stuffed animals which she brought with her on the rampage, according to a new report.
Audrey Hale was fatally shot by police after she killed three children and three teachers when she opened fire at The Covenant School on March 27, 2023.
The shooter wrote in her diary that she craved fame and notoriety and looked up to the Columbine High school shooters, a new Nashville Police report reveals.
The document outlines Hale's declining mental health and growing obsession with carrying out the sick attack, in which nine-year-olds William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs and Evelyn Dieckhaus, and adults Michael Hill, Cynthia Peak and Katherine Koonce died.
'As time progressed, Hale began rating other mass killers based on the number of people they killed, what targets they selected, and the level of notoriety they achieved,' the report states.
'She considered those offenders who killed a low number of people to be “amateurs” who weren’t worthy of respect.'
Hale, 28, identified as a trans man, but is referred to throughout the document by female pronouns because Tennessee law requires officials to refer to an individual's biological sex.
Hale was a former student of the school where she carried out the massacre and had fond memories of her time there.
A new report into Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale details how the killer was seeking fame and notoriety
Hale, 28, had no real friends and would talk to stuffed animals which she brought on the rampage
The killer gunned down three children and three adults during the massacre on March 27, 2023
Police said there was not one single motivation behind her heinous actions, however the report paints a picture of her increasing social isolation as a teenager which boiled over into adulthood.
'Hale wrote how she was tired of being alone and ignored, ostracized by those she felt were her friends, and shunned by society for being autistic' the report states.
'After writing an expletive rant directed towards her “best friend” for choosing a relationship with a man over her, Hale decided it was time to make others notice her for a change'.
The 'change' Hale referred to 'killing a bunch of children' which she felt would mean she would no longer be ignored, police said.
At one point she wrote in a journal that she would consider herself a 'failure' if she did not kill at least 10 people.
As Hale withdrew more into herself, she began to feel that, 'the only true friends she could confide in were her stuffed animals, who she felt would never abandon her', the report states.
The killer gave the toys names and personalities and used them to act out her emotions.
The stuffed animals were discovered in Hale's car shortly after the shooting along with ammo.
Police recovered crazed writings from Hale's home and vehicle which detailed the sick plot
Weapons and ammo were also recovered from her home
Prior to the attack, Hale had requested a guided tour of the school posing as a nostalgic alumnus.
But in reality, she was scoping out the layout and taking photographs to assist in her evil plan, the report states.
The document maps out Hale's movements almost minute by minute, describing how she shot her way into the school.
Custodian Hill was the first person shot by Hale as he attempted to flee after seeing her enter the school.
After an alarm was sounded, third graders Dieckhaus, Kinney and Scruggs formed a line and started heading for an exit in line with their school's protocol.
They crossed paths with Peak who let them exit ahead of her, but all four were killed after they were met by Hale who blasted them as she advanced up a stairwell.
Hale then began firing rounds into classrooms as terrified kids and teachers cowered inside.
Koonce was the last to die after she stepped out to investigate the source of the alarm.
Hale idolized the Columbine shooters and wrote that she would consider herself a failure if she killed less than 10 people
Third graders Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs were killed alongside vice principle Katherine Koonce, teacher Cynthia Peak and custodian Michael Hill
She was shot by Hale after she asked her what she was doing in the school.
Hale was apprehended by police who managed to sneak up on her because she was wearing ear buds. She refused to relinquish her weapon and was fatally shot.
Hale's writings indicated she believed that, 'by simply committing suicide, she would be quickly forgotten and not even worthy of a footnote in history'.
Police determined that Hale selected the elementary school because her targets, 'would likely not put up much of a fight'.
The school was also selected because it gave Hale a sense of comfort over her own death as it gave her the feeling her life had come full circle given her personal connection, the report said.
