Nashville Police say they will hold off on releasing Audrey Hale manifesto due to 'pending litigation'

Robin Wolfenden prays at a memorial for victims outside the Covenant School building at the Covenant Presbyterian Church following a shooting, in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 28, 2023. – A heavily armed former student killed three young children and three staff in what appeared to be a carefully planned attack at a private elementary school in Nashville on March 27, before being shot dead by police. Chief of Police John Drake named the suspect as Audrey Hale, 28, who the officer later said identified as transgender. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Brooke Mallory
UPDATED 2:31 PM – Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the Covenant School shooter, left a manifesto that Nashville police had confirmed would be made public. However, they now claim that pending litigation and counsel advice is holding them back from releasing it.

Hale was a 28-year-old transgender former student who murdered three 9-year-olds and three adults last month. Hale was a biological woman who identified as a transgender man.

“The investigation has progressed to the point where the Covenant shooter’s writings are now being reviewed for public release,” the Metro Nashville Police Department told the press. “This process is currently underway.”

Representative Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) demanded that the victims’ relatives and members of Congress be allowed access to the records and said that he was aware that the FBI was responsible for the holdup.

The manifesto “could maybe tell us a little bit about what’s going on inside of her head,” Burchett said.

Courtney Johnston, a Metro Nashville council member, claimed that a high-ranking member of the Metro Nashville Police Department told her that Hale’s manifesto was a “blueprint on total destruction” and that it “keeps him up at night.”

On March 27^th, Hale stormed the Christian elementary school with three firearms in what the police have described as a “calculated and planned” attack that was described in a document found in the assailant’s car.

Before they heard more gunshots coming from the second floor of the building, officers had already responded and were searching each and every room. They finally located and killed the disgruntled shooter before 10:30 a.m..

In her parents’ home, Hale reportedly kept journals on other historical school shootings under her bed. Court documents noted that police seized the journals, as well as a large stack of papers, electronic devices, and hand-drawn maps of the institution.

Additionally, two “memoirs,” notes on weapons instruction, a 12-gauge Mossberg 590, and a 20-gauge Winchester Model 1200 were discovered by authorities. One of the guns had its barrel sawed off.

Hale also reportedly left a suicide note on a desk underneath one of the numerous laptops that the police discovered.

On top of struggling with gender dysphoria, the transgender shooter had been receiving medical treatments for an emotional disorder, according to authorities.

Court documents showed that Hale had no prior convictions in Davidson County or Metro Nashville.

Investigators have not yet come up with a motive, but according to Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake, they believe that Hale purposefully targeted the Christian school and its associated church. She is believed to have been most likely seeking some sort of revenge as an ex-student.

Covenant investigation update: Due to pending litigation filed this week, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department has been advised by counsel to hold in abeyance the release of records related to the shooting at The Covenant School pending orders or direction of the court.
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) May 3, 2023

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