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Audrey Hale: Trans woman, 28, who killed 6 at Nashville school was 'child-like' and 'quiet' ex-student

Audrey Hale carefully planned the Nashville attack with detailed maps and surveillance

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: The shooter who gunned down six people before being shot dead a private Christian elementary school in Nashville on Monday, April 27, has been identified as 28-year-old White transgender woman Audrey Hale. It is believed Hale was a former student at the school but it is unclear when or for how long. Hale murdered three students and three staffers before being shot dead by cops.

Hale, who was biologically female but preferred the pronouns 'he/him,' was an illustrator and graphic designer, according to his LinkedIn profile. The gunman's profile says he went to Nossi College of Art where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Illustration and Graphic Design. He worked as a 'grocery shopper' at Shipt, did some freelance work including as an illustrator at Nossi College of Art, worked as a 'Cat Sitter' at Music City Cats, LLC and was a freelance graphic designer at Sora Entertainment. 

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'There is a child-like part about me'

The school shooter's account on Adobe Portfolio reads, "I am a freelance Illustrator and Graphic Designer who creates logos for businesses. I primarily work with clients that desire a brand personality. I provide illustrations and designs that will help tell a company’s story. My illustrations usually bring a whimsical and light-hearted feel."

"Aside from art, I enjoy binging on video games, watching movies, and playing sports. There is a child-like part about me that loves to go run to the playground. Animals are my second passion, so I also enjoy spending time with my two cats," it adds.

Hale's motive remains unclear, but he left behind a manifesto, according to the Daily Mail. He was wielding two assault-style rifles and a pistol at the scene of the crime, and was gunned down by responding officers who found him on the second floor of the Covenant School. He had no record of mental health problems, and did not have police records.

“There’s some belief that there was some resentment for having to go to that school,” Police Chief John Drake told NBC News. “Don’t have all the details to that just yet and that’s why this incident occurred.”

Audrey Hale described as a 'normal, nice person'

Sandy Durham, a neighbor of Hale's, said he knew him since he was a baby. Durham, while speaking of Hale, addressed the shooter as 'she/her.' She said there were no signs this could have happened. "Never. She was very sweet. I don't know what happened. It's very scary," Durham told The Daily Beast.

Sean Brashears, a next door neighbor who played basketball with Hale referred to him as a "normal, nice person. Maybe a little quiet." "If I had to imagine, Audrey's parents are probably just as shocked as everybody in the neighborhood is…It just doesn't seem real," Brashears said.

He also said he believes Hale could not have been influenced by the gun culture. "There's nothing that would have led me to believe that she was capable of such a thing or that she or anybody in that family would have access to, much less ever used, a gun," Brashears said. "They just don't seem like the family that, like, is around guns. They're not talking about going to a gun range or they're not going hunting."

How did Audrey Hale carry out the shooting?

In a series of tweets, Metro Nashville PD described how the shooting was carried out. "Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, drove this Honda Fit to the Covenant Church/school campus this morning and parked. MNPD detectives searched it and found additional material written by Hale," it wrote, adding, "Hale entered the Covenant building after shooting out the glass of these doors."

"As officers responded to the Covenant campus, Hale fired on arriving police vehicles from a 2nd story window," the department tweeted, It added, "Hale fired a number of rounds inside the Covenant Church/School building. She was armed with these 3 guns and significant ammunition."

The victims of the attack have been identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all aged 9, Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61.