Shooting Victims Include Three 9-Year-Olds, Headmaster

The three students shot to death Monday at a private school in Nashville were all 9 years old, police said—two girls and a boy. Officials identified them as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, the Tennessean reports. The adult victims were Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61. Hill was a custodian, Koonce the Covenant School's headmaster, and Peak a substitute teacher, investigators said. In an afternoon press conference, Police Chief John Drake said, "I was literally moved to tears to see this and the kids as they were being ushered out of the building."

The six were killed by Audrey Hale, 28, a former student at the school, Drake said. Hale was killed by officers less than 15 minutes after the shooting began. Hale had no criminal history and obtained two of the three weapons used locally. In a search of a house later, police said they found a plan for the attack, including maps showing existing surveillance and points of entry, as well as a written screed. All entrances to the building were locked, per USA Today, and Hale got in by shooting a door. Police said Hale was a transgender man who used male pronouns, per the Tennessean. (More Nashville school shooting stories.)