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Katherine Koonce: The Covenant School headmaster 'headed straight for' shooter Audrey Hale before being killed

Katherine Koonce was in the middle of a Zoom meeting when gunshots rang out

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers' discretion advised

NASHVILLE, TENESSEE: Katherine Koonce, 60, was identified as one of the six victims killed during the Nashville School shooting on March 27. The headmaster of the Nashville Christian academy is believed to have “headed straight for” the school shooter Audrey Hale, 28, before she was gunned down, a city councilman claimed.

Suspect Audrey Hale, a former student at the school stormed into the private Christian institution wielding two assault-style rifles and a pistol, killing six people, including the headmistress and three young children. The victims were identified as 9-year-old students Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney and the other victims were custodian Mike Hill and substitute teacher Cynthia Peak both aged 61.

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What really happened?

Headmaster Koonce was in the middle of a Zoom meeting when she heard rounds of gunshots being fired, shortly after 10.am, Nashville City Councilman and ex-FBI agent Russ Pulley told Fox News. The heroic 60-year-old jumped straight into the action to help protect the young children. It is believed the shooter and the headmistress had some confrontation before she was shot dead. “It is my understanding from a witness at the school, that Katherine Koonce was on a Zoom call when she heard the first shot," said Pulley.

"She immediately ended the call, got up, and headed straight for the shooter,” Pulley spoke of the tragedy. “She did what principals and headmasters do; she protected her children,” claimed the former FBI agent. During a press conference on Tuesday, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said, he is "sure" there was a confrontation between Hale and Koonce because of the “way she was lying in the hallway." 

'Katherine Koonce saved countless lives!'

“It’s very possible the head of the school could have done that, I can’t confirm that one way or another,” Drake said when asked if Koonce approached the shooter. “I do know she was in the hallway by herself. There was a confrontation I’m sure.” Koonce had allegedly prepared The Covenant School with advanced training in case of an active shooter situation after the recent pileup of school shootings in America. Pulley said, Koonce prepared The Covenant School by “seeking advanced level active shooter training” that “saved countless lives” during Monday’s massacre. 

Authorities collected the shooters' manifesto, which detailed the map of the school, and potential entry points, and said Hale had planned to do more harm. "We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we're going over that pertain to this date, the actual incident," said Chief Drake. "We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place." Hale shot victims at random, though she targeted the private Christian school, police said. Drake added the shooter had "some resentment for having to go to that school."