Nashville shooter Audrey Hale's high school pal says no one was surprised 'when she came out as trans'
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale's high school friend reportedly said that she was shocked to learn that the person she ran track with carried out such a brutal massacre. Hale was biologically female but preferred the pronouns "he/him." However, police have used female pronouns for the shooter. The 28-year-old was a former student at the Covenant School but it is unclear when or for how long. Hale murdered three students and three staffers before being shot dead by cops.
The friend, who has not been named, described Hale as "sweet and funny," recalling their memories at the Nashville School of the Arts from around 2011 to 2014. "What she did was unforgivable but when I knew her she was a sweet and funny girl," the friend told Daily Mail, adding, "When she came out as trans (female to male) no one was surprised."
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Audrey Hale 'didn't fit the school shooter archetype'
"She really didn't fit the school shooter archetype. I don't know what would have happened to turn her into this person we see on the news. Everyone in my graduating class is losing it on Facebook. Really none would have seen this coming," the friend added.
The friend referred to Hale as "her" because she knew him as a female before his transition after graduation. "We went to Nashville School of the Arts in high school, where we had several trans students and others who were a part of the LGBTQ community," Hale's friend said, adding, "We were both in Visual Arts classes together and she was very involved with the school and had several friends."
'The whole situation is so surreal'
The friend said that she remebered Hale as a team player. "We ran track together as well for [Martin Luther King Jr. School] (a sister magnet school) and she was a great part of the team," the friend said, adding, "I'd never defend anyone that would hurt a child. But really it's still really hard to believe that she did this. I thought for sure it was a mistake at first. The whole situation is so surreal. She really did have a good group of friends and she did a lot of projects and school activities. Not at all what you would expect from someone in this kind of news headline."
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 school. He had no record of mental health problems, and did not have police records. Metropolitan Nashville Police Department released footage of Hale driving his car and breaking into the Covenant School, carrying his firearm.
The victims of the shooting have been identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all nine years of age, Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61.