The Metro Nashville Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division released its final report on the 2023 Covenant School shooting undertaken by trans shooter Audrey Hale, finding that Hale planned the attack for years beforehand. Police claimed that a "manifesto didn’t exist," despite information on and details of a manifesto having been leaked by a local outlet. The shooting caused the deaths of three 9-year-old students as well as three staff members.
The report stated that in a November 2017 journal entry that Hale wrote about watching several documentaries about school shootings and became "fascinated" with the topic. Hale began to seek out other information on mass killers in the US, and downloaded images of the offenders, what weapons they used, information that was publicly available on their mental health, their known motives, locations, and the number of people killed or injured.
She compiled this information into a multiple-page document which she referred to as "research material," and police said that despite looking at a large amount of information for every mass killing she could find, Hale "kept returning to Columbine as her true source of inspiration." Columbine, in April 1999, was the first mass school shooting in the United States.
She rated other mass killers based on things like the number of those killed, the targets selected, and the notoriety achieved, and "considered those offenders who killed a low number of people to be 'amateurs.'" Police said that "fantasies began to turn into intentions in the summer of 2018."
Police also said that there was not a manifesto left behind by Hale, but rather a large amount of writings. The Tennessee Star had published vast amounts of Hale's writing, calling it a manifesto. A manifesto would typically be a document detailing intent and purpose of an action. In Hale's case, per police, she left many notebooks but not one conclusive document.
"Early in the investigation, it was suggested Hale left behind a 'manifesto' detailing her motives and intentions. This has elicited a great deal of interest from the public and had led to repeated demands this manifesto be released for public study and comment," the report stated. "By definition, a manifesto is a mission statement or other document written and disseminated by an individual or group to enumerate or expound upon the guiding principles and beliefs that inform their actions."
"In this case, a manifesto didn’t exist. Hale never left behind a single document explaining why she committed the attack, why she specifically targeted The Covenant, and what she hoped to gain, if anything, with the attack," the report stated, adding that what Hale did leave behind was writings and other files "documenting her planning and preparation for the attack, the events in her life that motivated her to commit the attack, and her hopes regarding the outcome of the attack."
"No single document, notebook, or digital device contains the answer to those questions. The answer is scattered throughout all the assembled material, which required a careful review of the material to understand Hale’s motive."
The report stated that a total of 16 notebooks containing writings from Hale were obtained by authorities during the investigation, as well as assorted folders and loose documents that contained writings or printed materials either created by or concerning Hale. Seven composition books and sketchbooks containing drawings and sketches, some of which were accompanied by phrases and poetry.
The report noted that Hale had made "statements about wanting to transition genders," and had begun using the name "Aiden Williams" in the years prior to the shooting as well as male pronouns on social media. "Nothing has been found to suggest she initiated or was undergoing a transition at the time of he death, including medical documentation. During her autopsy, it was determined she was biologically female."
Covenant Final Report by Hannah Nightingale on Scribd
