Audrey Hale fifth on list of female school shooters after Nashville tragedy
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Gun violence and mass shootings in America have reached levels where the country sadly debates the tragedy and loss of countless lives almost daily. 28-year-old Audrey Hale shot and killed six people, including three 9-year-old children at The Covenant School in Nashville on Monday, March 27.
As we celebrate the important role of women in American history this Women's History Month, we also remember the women who caused some of the deadliest school shootings in America Audrey Hale ranks fifth on the list of women responsible for horrific school shootings.
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Brenda Ann Spencer
Brenda Ann Spencer was considered one of the first modern school shooters of the 1970s. She was only 16 years old when she committed a mass shooting at a San Diego elementary school because she didn't like Mondays. On January 29, 1979, the "I don't like Mondays" killer took the 22-round pistol her father had given her and opened fire on the morning crowd outside Grover Cleveland Elementary School, which was directly across the street from her home.
School principal Burton Wragg and janitor Michael Suchar were killed while helping children. Eight children and a first responder were wounded. Later, Spencer barricaded herself in her home for more than six hours until she finally turned herself in to authorities. The heavily intoxicated shooter told authorities she wanted to commit suicide by cop because she had been unable to kill herself. The 16-year-old later stated she had been chronically abused and molested by her father. Shockingly, just weeks before the cold mass shooting, a school psychiatrist recommended her institutionalization because she was a danger to herself and others.
Spencer was charged as an adult and pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in 1980. She was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, while nine counts of attempted murder were dismissed. She remains in the California Institution for Women in Corona after being denied parole several times.
Audrey Hale
Nashville school shooter identified as 28-year-old White transgender woman Audrey Hale was a former student at the school. Hale murdered three students and three staffers before being fatally shot by cops. Hale, was biologically female but preferred the pronouns 'he/him,' according to his LinkedIn profile. The illustrator and graphic designer was wielding two assault-style rifles and a pistol at the scene of the crime and killed three young victims namely Dieckhaus, Scruggs, and Kinney and adult staffers Cynthia Peak, and Mike Hill, both 61, and the school's headmistress, Katherine Koonce, 60.
Although, Hale's motive remains unclear, and he has no record of mental health problems or prior police records. However, the 28-year-old left behind a manifesto that could hint at the reason behind the cold murders, according to the Daily Mail.
Dorothy Dutiel
A teen girl identified as Dorothy Dutiel opened fire in Arizona high school in a murder-suicide. Shooter Dutiel pulled the trigger on herself before killing her alleged girlfriend May Kieu. The 15-year-old shooter left eight suicide notes saying she was heartbroken over the pair's breakup. "Last Saturday, I was informed she didn’t love me romantically anymore," she wrote. "I was not okay. But we did not separate, because she told me there was a chance," reported Daily Mail. "She hasn’t loved me like that for a long time. This week has been the worst in my life." Each died of a single gunshot wound inside Independence High School
Laurie Dann
Laurie Dann, a mentally ill woman, stormed inside of a Winnetka, Illinois school and opened fire on May 20, 1988. The unstable woman killed eight-year-old Nicholas B Corwin and injured five others inside of North Shore grade school. Dann then fled the school and invaded the home of Ray and Ruth Ann Andrew and wounded their teenage son Phil Andrew, before she killed herself.
Elizabeth Bush
On March 7, 2001, Elizabeth Bush, 14, an eighth-grader, took the .22-caliber revolver to Bishop Neumann Junior-Senior High School in Williamsport and shot 13-year-old Kimberly Marchese. The 14-year-old later admitted in a juvenile court she shot her fellow classmate over being teased by the victim and her friends. Bush, who has been held at the Tioga County Youth Detention Center since the shooting, said she shot Marchese because of "the pain they put me through," reported ABC news. No one else was injured in the shooting.