Ajit Karn
Washington: On Monday, a 28-year-old woman murdered three children and three staff members at a private elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, before being shot dead by police, in the latest instance of shocking gun violence in the United States.
The gunman entered the Christian Covenant School through a side door before opening fire, according to Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron. The assailant was armed with at least two assault rifles and a handgun.
Officers arrived on the scene within 15 minutes of receiving the initial emergency contact at 10:00 a.m. (1500 GMT) and engaged the gunman, who fired back before being fatally shot.
Aaron stated that the young woman, who police identified as a 28-year-old from Nashville, discharged multiple rounds as she advanced through the school. There was no initial indication of the shooting’s motivation.
“We now know that three students and three adults were fatally wounded inside the school,” Aaron said, adding that the adults were among the 40 to 50 staff members at the school. He reported there were no additional injuries.
3 Children Among 6 Dead In US School Shooting, Gunman Had Assault Rifles – NDTV https://t.co/q4bhqnOXSZ #UnitedStates #SchoolShooting
— Shrimant Mane (@ShrimantManey) March 27, 2023
Kendra Loney of the Nashville fire department stated, “All remaining students were escorted out of the building along with faculty and staff.”
“We were on the scene to prevent anyone from seeing what else was happening,” she said.
“However, we are certain that they heard the chaos that ensued, so we have mental health specialists and professionals at the reunification site for both students and their families.”
The Covenant School is a private Presbyterian institution with a little over 200 pupils ranging in age from pre-kindergarten to approximately 12 years old.
In recent years, the United States has witnessed an alarming increase in the availability of firearms; however, female snipers are extremely uncommon.
The White House referred to the most recent school shooting as “heartbreaking” and urged Republicans to support President Joe Biden’s drive for a ban on assault weapons commonly used in mass shootings in the United States.
Biden was briefed on the “heartbreaking news of another shooting of innocents,” according to Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who asked Republicans what they were waiting for to “step up and act to pass the assault weapons ban.”
Several elected officials in the state of Tennessee also expressed their astonishment on social media. Senator Bill Hagerty tweeted, “Devastated and heartbroken about the tragic news at Covenant School.”
Also read: Four family members committed suicide in Hyderabad: Police
“I am grateful for the heroism of law enforcement and first responders.”
Senator Marsha Blackburn commended the first responders and prayed for the victims.
Despite public outrage over high-profile massacres such as the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012, in which 26 people, including 20 children, were murdered, legislation addressing gun violence has stalled in Washington.
In Uvalde, Texas, a shooter murdered 19 pupils and two instructors in 2013.
