Terror of Nashville school attack captured in 911 recordings

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details

Authorities in Nashville, Tenn., released 911 calls on Thursday that captured the terror at an elementary school during this week’s attack that left three children and three adults dead, as callers called for help in hushed voices while sirens, cries and gunshots could be heard. . in the background.

Police released recordings of three phone calls made during Monday’s attack at Covenant School.

One caller told the operator that he could hear gunshots while he was hiding in an art classroom closet.

“Sounds like someone shooting a gun,” the caller said in the recording, which began just before 10:13 a.m. local time.

He then noted that there was a pause in the firing. The dispatcher asked if they were in a safe place and said that someone else had reported shots fired at the school.

“I think so,” he said, as the children could be heard in the background.

The caller then said he could hear more gunshots, and muffled thuds could be heard on the recording.

“I heard more shots,” he said. “Please hurry.”

Another caller said he was in a room on the second floor.

“I had a shooter in our church,” he said, then added: “I was on the second floor in a room. I think the shooter was on the second floor.”

And in another call, a man told the operator that he was with a group of people, including some children, and that they were walking away from the school to the highway.

Although the man remained calm, the tension and confusion of the situation was obvious, with some adults talking over each other and the voices of children in the background.

Three adults and three nine-year-old children were killed in the attack.

Authorities said the police captured and killed the assailant, a former student identified as Audrey Hale, 28 years old.

Call for tighter gun control

The release of the footage came as people protested at the Tennessee Capitol for tighter gun control, prompting the Republican-led legislature to take action.

Chants of “Save our children!” surprisingly crowded the hallways between the state Senate and House chambers, with protesters setting up shop inside and outside the Capitol.

Some silence filled the gallery of the Senate chamber, including children holding signs reading “I am nine” – a reference to the age of the children who died.

Most of the protesters were removed from the gallery after some started shouting at the MPs: “The children are dead!”

The protest followed a candlelight vigil Wednesday night in Nashville where Republican lawmakers stood alongside first lady Jill Biden, Democratic lawmakers and musicians including Sheryl Crow, who have called for stricter gun control since the attack.

The vigil was sombre and sometimes tearful, as speaker after speaker read the names of the victims and offered condolences to their loved ones but refrained from any statement that could be seen as political.

‘Worst day in our town’

“Just the past two days have been the worst days in our city,” Mayor John Cooper said. “I wish we weren’t here, but we have to be here.”

Police have said that Hale drove up to the school on Friday morning, took out the glass door, entered and started shooting indiscriminately.

Among those killed were students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. Katherine Koonce, 60, principal; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian was also killed.

Absent from Wednesday’s vigil was Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee, who has been an advocate for less restrictive gun laws along with more school security and who once intimated that prayer can protect Tennessee from school shootings and others.

Lee released a video statement Tuesday saying that Peak is a close friend of his wife, Maria, and that they had planned to have dinner on Monday.

“Maria woke up in the morning without her best friend,” Lee said, adding that his wife used to teach with Peak and Koonce.

Women, he said, “have been family friends for decades.”

Lee has avoided public appearances this week and has not suggested any steps the administration might take in response to the school shooting.

Republicans talk about school safety

As with similar responses to gun violence, the state’s Republican leaders have stopped short of calling for stricter gun restrictions and instead offered support for increased school safety measures.

In a letter to Lee, Republican Lt. Gov. Randy McNally called for securing windows and glass in school buildings, adding magnetic locks to doors, modernizing camera systems and adding armed guards.

“While these changes will come with costs, I believe it is important for us to have a conversation about how to improve and modernize security in schools in Tennessee,” wrote McNally.

Along with increasing school safety measures, McNally told reporters Thursday that he is in favor of a red flag law like the one in Florida.

Meanwhile, Tennessee’s US senators, Republicans Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, are pushing for legislation that would create a US$900 million grant program to “harden” schools and hire security officers.

Blackburn and Hagerty said that they will introduce the SAFE School Act, which will help public and private schools train military veterans and former law enforcement officers to provide security.

He said the funds could also be used to improve physical security measures. Blackburn introduced similar legislation in the last Congress, but failed to gain support.