Police on Thursday released the audio of 911 calls during the Nashville school shooting at Covenant School, revealing chaos and terror.
Three calls were made public by Nashville Metro Police Department (NMPD) Thursday, with callers saying they saw the shooter dressed in “camouflage” and initially described 28-year-old Audrey Hale as a man, according to the audio obtained by News Channel 5. One female caller located inside the school was hiding in the “art room closets” with children, saying “I think I heard gunshots.” (RELATED: Trans School Shooter’s Manifesto To Be Released After FBI Review, Nashville Official Says)
“Have you counted the gunshots,” the operator asked, “do you know how many it was?”
“No, but someone is shooting guns,” the woman replied while breathing heavily. “It sounds like they stopped for the moment.”
At one point a child begins to cry as the woman hushes her before the operator asks for her name while sirens are going off in the background, according to the audio. The released calls come just days after Hale, who identified as transgender and was a former student, attacked the school on Monday and fatally shot three children and three adult staff members.
NASHVILLE, TN – MARCH 27: School buses with children arrive at Woodmont Baptist Church to be reunited with their families after a mass shooting at The Covenant School on March 27, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Seth Herald/Getty Images)
A male caller dialed 911 at 10:12 a.m. and told the operator that there was an “active shooter” at the school. The man was also speaking to several individuals nearby, with one describing how Hale had entered the church.
“They came through in between where the sanctuary is and the overhead entrance, there’s a side door on the end,” the man said. “You’ll see he shot the windows out to enter the school. You’ll see broken glass all through there.”
“Did you get a look at him or a description of him?” the operator asks.
“I don’t know,” the caller replies before bringing the other witness back on the phone, who described Hale as a “white man” with an “assault rifle” and a “camouflage vest one.”
Hale was eventually shot and killed by NMPD officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo on the second floor of the school. NMPD has yet to announce a motive for the shooting but Chief John Drake told reporters during a press conference that the attack was “targeted.”
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