Police: Christian School Shooter Considered Two Locations, Chose One with Least Security

Police say the 28-year-old suspected of killing six people at a Christian school Monday actually had another location chosen but decided to forego it because it had a higher level of security.

The suspect in the Christian school shooting was named by police as 28-year-old Audrey Hale.

Nashville police confirm today’s shooter identifier as a transgender. The shooter was a woman who identified as a man. She intentionally targeted a religious elementary school for mass murder. pic.twitter.com/1mTtB7SzXG

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) March 27, 2023

During an afternoon question and answer session with reporters, Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake noted that Hale left behind a manifesto.

A reporter then asked if Covenant School was the only school that was targeted.

Drake answered, “Yes,” but noted there was another location the suspect considered striking as well. However, he said the suspect did “a threat assessment” of the other location and decided there was “too much security.”

Following the July 20, 2012, Aurora movie theater attack, gun scholar John Lott noted that the shooting suspect had targeted a Cinemark theater, which was the only one within close proximity of his home where concealed carry permit holders were barred from being armed.

Lott wrote:

Out of all the movie theaters within 20 minutes of his apartment showing the new Batman movie that night, it was the only one where guns were banned. In Colorado, individuals with permits can carry concealed handgun in most malls, stores, movie theaters, and restaurants. But private businesses can determine whether permit holders can carry guns on their private property.

Most movie theaters allow permit holders carrying guns. But the Cinemark movie theater was the only one with a sign posted at the theater’s entrance.

Lott noted that the Cinemark was not closest to Holmes’ apartment, but was chosen for the gun-free status.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.