Three years after The Covenant School shooting, Nashville weighs investigations, court fights, and safety changes

A case that remains central to Nashville’s public safety debate

March 27, 2026 marks three years since the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville’s Green Hills area that left six victims dead: three 9-year-old students and three adult staff members. The attacker was killed by responding Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers inside the school building.

The incident quickly became a defining event for the city, prompting a multi-track response that has included a criminal investigation, ongoing public-records litigation, and changes to school safety practices and policy discussions statewide.

What the completed police investigation concluded

In early April 2025, MNPD announced it had closed its investigation and released a detailed report summarizing evidence, timelines, and investigative conclusions. The case was cleared by exception because the offender died at the scene.

The report described the attack as planned and calculated, and stated investigators found no evidence that any other person participated in the planning, preparation, or execution of the murders.

• Victims: students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney (all 9); and staff members Katherine Koonce (60), Cynthia Peak (61), and Michael Hill (61).
• The attacker was identified as Audrey Hale, 28, a former student of the school.
• MNPD officers shot and killed Hale during the response.

Disputes over records and the attacker’s writings

Even after the criminal investigation concluded, legal conflict has continued over what materials must be made public. The most contested items have included the attacker’s writings—described in court filings as journals, a suicide note, and other documents—along with other investigative records.

A Davidson County Chancery Court ruling in July 2024 held that certain materials could be withheld under a state public-records exception tied to school security. In February 2026, a Tennessee Court of Appeals decision reversed significant portions of that earlier ruling and held that the attacker’s writings can be made public, though the broader fight over access to records has not been fully resolved.

The litigation has centered on how to balance public access to government records with student safety, privacy, and the potential for further harm to a school community.

School safety actions and policy outcomes since 2023

In the aftermath of the shooting, state leaders announced school safety initiatives emphasizing physical security and expanded resources. Over the following year, Tennessee enacted a law creating a pathway for certain public school staff to carry concealed handguns on campus if specific local approvals, permitting, background checks, and training requirements are met.

Separately, school districts across Tennessee reported additional safety changes in the two years after the attack, reflecting a broader trend toward upgraded security planning, facility hardening, and response coordination.

Where the story stands on March 27, 2026

Three years after the Covenant School attack, the criminal investigation is closed, but the public-records and disclosure questions remain active in court. The case continues to shape Nashville’s—and Tennessee’s—approach to school safety, underscoring how major incidents can generate years of investigative, legal, and operational consequences well beyond the day of the violence.