Metro Nashville PD to release school shooter's writings

Metro Nashville PD to release school shooter’s writings

Multiple people died during a shooting at a Nashville church school
The shooters'writings will eventually be released, Nashville police say
However, it won't be anytime soon, authorities tell NewsNation

Updated: Apr 28, 2023 / 03:58 PM CDT

FILE – A balloon with names of the victims is seen at a memorial at the entrance to The Covenant School on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Bipartisan gun legislation signed by President Biden in 2022 has already prevented some potentially dangerous people from owning guns. But Democrats are calling for more action after mass shootings in Nashville and elsewhere, and Congress is at a familiar impasse. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)

(NewsNation) — The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department says writings by the suspect in the killing of multiple people, including three children, at a Nashville Christian school in March are being prepared for release.

However, police told NewsNation the release of these documents won’t be anytime soon.

Seven people total, including the shooter, died during the March incident. The victims were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all 9 years old, Cynthia Peak, age 61, Katherine Koonce, age 60, and Mike Hill, age 61.

Police have identified the shooter as a 28-year-old former student of The Covenant school, where the attack took place. According to authorities, writings by the shooter were found in their vehicle and bedroom.

From what’s documented in them, police say, it’s clear the shooting had been planned for months.

While they have not been made publicly available, the FBI’s behavioral teams have reviewed the writings.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch detailed what he saw in them at a meeting of the Tennessee Sheriff’s Association.

To news outlet PIJN, Rausch said that the description some made of the documents as a “manifesto” is a mischaracterization.

Rausch said the writings were ramblings that didn’t indicate a clear motive. One document he viewed was a plan, and the other was “journal-type rantings,” Rausch said.

In his review of the material, Rausch said, the shooter did not write about specific political, religious or social issues, WTVF reported. Instead, a primary focus of the journals was the idolization of those who committed previous school shootings, according to the news station.

NewsNation local affiliate WKRN reported earlier this month that officers found 30 journals with references to school shootings and firearms courses, along with two shotguns, during a search of the suspect’s home. According to search warrants obtained by the news station, a suicide note was found on a desk in one of the bedrooms.

Along with that, five Covenant School yearbooks were taken from the home, and investigators seized a psych medical folder.