Nashville Mayor Launches Investigation into How Images from Shooter’s Writings Were Released

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell (D) launched an investigation Monday into how purported images of the transgender Nashville shooter’s writings “could have been released.”

WSMV 4 reported O’Connell saying:

I have directed Wally Dietz, Metro’s Law Director, to initiate an investigation into how these images could have been released. That investigation may involve local, state, and federal authorities. I am deeply concerned with the safety, security, and well-being of the Covenant families and all Nashvillians who are grieving.

News Channel 5 pointed to the investigation in an X post:

The Nashville mayor's office has confirmed they are working with Metro legal to determine how those images were released to anyone.

We are working to update this story. https://t.co/wRm7JjgWcs

— NewsChannel 5 (@NC5) November 6, 2023

Metro Law Director Wally Dietz clarified that he will undertake an investigation at O’Connell’s direction. “At the request of the Mayor, I am initiating a full investigation with multiple law enforcement agencies to determine exactly what happened,” Dietz said.

Beyond confirming the beginnings of the investigation, Dietz walked the same line as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD), stating, “I cannot confirm or deny the authenticity of the documents due to the existing lawsuit.”

Early Monday, Breitbart News spoke with the TBI and communications director Josh Devine, who said, “We’re aware of the images, yes, but we’re not offering confirmation on their authenticity.”

Later on Monday, MNPD released a statement indicating the broadly circulated images — purportedly of the Nashville shooter’s manifesto — are “not MNPD crime scene images.” However, they did not deny their authenticity.

Editor’s Note: This article initially described Hale’s writings as a “manifesto.” All evidence so far indicates that the writings are personal journals. The headline and text have been updated to better reflect this reality.

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. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he 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