Nashville shooter Audrey Hale allegedly used federal student aid to buy guns for school attack
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Recently unveiled FBI documents related to the tragic Covenant School shooting in Nashville have unveiled new insights into the motivations and plans of shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale. These documents, which were made public following a lawsuit, contain over 100 pages of Hale’s writings, including journals believed to date back to late 2021.

Within these writings, Hale outlined meticulous preparations for a school shooting and mentioned weapons she intended to acquire. Notably, some notes express a disdain for “Christian school (hate religion),” pointing to why the Covenant School was targeted.

Audrey Hale, who was 28 years old at the time, is seen in a driver’s license photo and on school surveillance footage released by Nashville police. On March 27, 2023, she tragically took the lives of three 9-year-old children and three adults in an attack on a private Christian elementary school, which she had once attended.

Audrey Hale portrait inset over surveillance video

The violent episode ended when officers from the Metro Nashville Police Department responded swiftly, resulting in Hale being fatally shot. These new revelations from her writings provide a clearer, albeit disturbing, understanding of the events leading up to that fateful day.

Hale, 28, carried out the March 27, 2023, attack at the Christian elementary school she once attended, killing six people before being shot dead by responding Metro Nashville Police Department officers.

The victims were identified as school staff members Katherine Koonce, 60; Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, 61; along with students Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney, all 9.

Surveillance footage released by police following the attack showed Hale moving through the school armed with multiple firearms.

Authorities have said Hale entered the building through a side entrance and moved through several areas of the school before being confronted by officers.

The two officers and Hale

Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake identified the two officers who fatally shot suspected school shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale on March 27, 2023. (Metro Nashville Police Department)

Shortly before the shooting, Hale sent a text message to a friend describing the planned attack as a “suicide mission” and stating the friend would likely “hear about me on the news after I die,” according to summaries released by officials.

Among the newly released FBI materials is a handwritten page seen by Fox News Digital and labeled “Account Savings Record,” and referenced federal student financial aid.

In the entry, Hale wrote that “FAFSA [sic] grant checks started at $2,050.86,” followed by ledger-style notes documenting payments from Nossi College of Art and Design in Nashville, where Hale was enrolled at the time.

Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale is seen inside Christian school

Metro Nashville Police Department released a video of 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale carrying out a shooting at Covenant school on March 27, 2023. (Metro Nashville Police Department)

The financial entries appear alongside extensive notes about firearms Hale planned to purchase and use in the attack.

The Tennessee Star also reported those records may lend support to statements Hale’s parents made to Metro Nashville Police Department detectives shortly after the shooting.

Hale’s parents reportedly told investigators in 2023 that their child used federal Pell Grant money to purchase the firearms used in the attack.

Memorials for the six victims who were killed in a mass shooting are placed outside of The Covenant School

Memorials for the six victims who were killed in a mass shooting are placed outside of The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. On Monday, three adults and three children were killed inside the school. (KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)

Hale’s mother also reportedly told police that because Hale was over 25 and enrolled as a student, parental income no longer factored into financial aid eligibility, allowing Hale to qualify for grant funding despite being unemployed.

Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake previously confirmed that investigators recovered a manifesto and hand-drawn maps from Hale’s vehicle after the shooting.

While portions of Hale’s writings have since been released, both city police and the FBI have continued to resist public records requests for the full manifesto.

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