The shooter who stormed a private Christian elementary school in Nashville Monday, killing three students and three staffers, was identified as a 28-year-old white woman who once attended the school, authorities said.
The suspect — who was killed by police — was also a Nashville resident, police said. She was not immediately identified.
A car was located near The Covenant School, where the 14-minute shooting spree took place Monday morning, and provided investigators clues as to the shooter’s identity, Metro Nashville Chief of Police John Drake said, NBC News reported.
“But as stated, that investigation is still ongoing,” he added.
The woman, who was wielding two assault-style rifles and a pistol, was killed by responding officers when they found her on the second floor of school.
Police said it appears the gunman had previously been a student at the school but it wasn’t immediately clear when or for how long.
They’re also investigating how she got access to the school, which had protocol for an active shooter.
“There was a door that was entered. All doors were locked, to our understanding, and how exactly she got in, at this point, is still under investigation,” Drake said, according to NBC News.
Police said they received the initial call about an active shooter at 10:13 a.m. The responding officers quickly began clearing the first story of the school after hearing gunshots coming from the second floor.
The victims were subsequently pronounced dead at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, according to police.
Their names and ages weren’t immediately released.
The Covenant School is a Presbyterian school for about 200 students from preschool through sixth grade. The school has roughly 50 staff members.
