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Nashville police release 911 calls made during school shooting

Nashville School Shooting
Posted at 1:56 PM, Mar 30, 2023
and last updated 2023-03-30 15:59:49-04

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Metro Nashville Police Department has released recordings from three calls made to 911 after a shooter opened fire at The Covenant School on Monday.

Two of the calls came in at 10:12 a.m. The other calls was received a minute later.

In the first call, a man tells the dispatcher that there is a active shooter at Covenant Presbyterian Church and gives the dispatcher the address.

The man said he was on speakerphone with others around him. Another person tells the operator that the shooter was wearing camouflage and had shot out doors with an assault rifle before going to the second-grade hallway.

"The second-grade hallway is on the upstairs. There's two levels in the church," the caller states.

The man then hands his phone to a woman who said she heard about 10 gunshots and left the building.

"We have a group of about six preschoolers," she said. "We are out of the building."

The second call came in from a woman who said she was hiding inside the art room closet.

"Are you in a safe spot right now?" the operator asked.

"I think so," the woman responded.

The woman could be heard telling others, presumably students, to remain quiet as gunshots briefly stopped.

The dispatcher advised the woman that help was on its way.

The third call was from a man who said he was hiding in a room on the second floor.

"I think the shooter is on the second floor," he said, before disconnecting.

Nashville police responded to the school within minutes. Bodycam video shows officers making their way through the school before confronting the shooter on the second floor. Two officers opened fire, killing the shooter.

The shooter had already killed six people, including three students who were just nine years old.

The shooter was a 28-year-old Nashville resident. Police have not released a motive for the shooting. However, they said the shooter left behind a manifesto.