Norma Hale, the mother of the Nashville Christian school shooter Audrey Hale, made multiple posts on social media in the past decrying school shootings and calling for increased gun control measures.
Norma Hale spoke with ABC News following Monday’s shooting by her daughter at The Covenant School, which left three adults and three elementary school students dead.
“It is very, very difficult right now” for the family, Norma Hale told ABC before asking for privacy.
“I think I lost my daughter today,” she added.
A neighbor told the news outlet that Audrey Hale lived with her parents, who were described as “very nice” and “very religious.”
#breaking law enforcement brings out multiple brown bags of evidence from the home of Audrey Hale, the shooter at Covenant School. This comes hours after flash grenades were used to get inside the home. @WSMV pic.twitter.com/0tD0AYcYcB
— Jeremy Finley (@JFinleyreports) March 27, 2023
The U.K. Daily Mail reported that Norma Hale’s past social media posts advocated for more gun control measures.
On Feb. 21, 2018, she shared a petition calling for large-capacity gun magazines to be made illegal.
That March Norma Hale posted a petition to keep guns out of school accompanied by the caption, “So important!”
Norma Hale made multiple posts in support of gun control on social media https://t.co/rGKAUtpOJR pic.twitter.com/ESdXjmVhP3
— Red Headed Patriot (@RedHeadedPat) March 28, 2023
Surveillance footage shared by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department showed Audrey Hale pulling up in a Honda Fit and parking at The Covenant School, where she once attended, at approximately 9:54 a.m. local time Monday.
At a 10:10 a.m., she opened fire on the glass front doors shattering them and then making entry into the school.
Audrey Hale had two rifles and a 9 mm hand gun in her possession.
Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church/School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building. She was armed with 2 assault-type guns and a 9 millimeter pistol. pic.twitter.com/mIk2pDmCwQ
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 28, 2023
At 10:18, Hale can be seen inside the school looking for victims. She would shoot and kill 9-year-old students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, as well as Principal Katherine Koonce, staff member Cynthia Peak and custodian Mike Hill.
Hallie was the daughter of Covenant Church pastor Chad Scruggs.
Please pray for the Scrugg family. Chad is the pastor of Covenant Church, in Nashville where the shooting occurred today. Chad and Jada’s daughter Hallie was one of the victims killed. Praying for God given strength as he has to pastor while mourning the loss of a child. pic.twitter.com/SqZxxDH4G6
— JC Groves (@JCGroves) March 28, 2023
At 10:27, Nashville police officers confirmed that the shooter had been shot and killed.
MNPD Officers Rex Engelbert, a 4-year veteran, and Michael Collazo, a 9-year veteran, were part of a team of first responders to the Covenant campus Mon morning. They fired on the active shooter, who was killed. This is their body camera footage. https://t.co/17qsZM6bNp pic.twitter.com/g4b0nMTFRD
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 28, 2023
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department chief John Drake told reporters when asked if she identified as transgender that “She does.”
Journalist Andy Ngo tweeted, “The shooting comes amid a surge in far-left death threats in Tennessee over the state banning the medical transitioning of minors. Hale’s art page featured LGBTQ+-themed work.”
BREAKING: The deceased mass shooter of the Christian school in #Nashville has been identified as #trans person Audrey E. Hale. Three children & three staff were murdered. The shooting comes amid a surge in far-left death threats in Tennessee over the state https://t.co/gHQ6S0YSYd… pic.twitter.com/RbJyFe5xM9
— Andy Ngô ?️? (@MrAndyNgo) March 27, 2023
Ngo added in another tweet, Audrey Hale identified as “he/him and uses the name ‘Aiden.’”
BREAKING: Audrey E. Hale, the 28-year-old woman who identifies as he/him and uses the name “Aiden,” is identified as the now-deceased suspect who shot up a Christian school in Tennessee, killing 6, including 3 children. The killings follow the state banning the medical… pic.twitter.com/Sp4RfGwcUj
— Andy Ngô ?️? (@MrAndyNgo) March 27, 2023
“The killings follow the state banning the medical transitioning of minors & adult cabaret (drag) performances in front of children,” Ngo wrote.
CBS News reported Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill into law on March 2 banning minors from transitioning with medical treatment and a separate law restricting drag shows from taking place in public or in front of children.
BREAKING: Nashville PD confirm that the school shooter had written about several other locations in her manifesto. pic.twitter.com/JkWjTb4f1t
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) March 28, 2023
Audrey Hale left a manifesto at her home and additional writings in her car, according to MNPD. Drake said there is “some theory” that Hale identifying as transgender may have motivated her attack on the Christian school, according to the Mail.
The manifesto has not been made public yet.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
