Nashville Shooting

By: Mariama Bah

On March 27, tragedy struck Nashville when Audrey Hale opened fire in Covenant elementary school, killing six people. A former student, Hale, brought seven firearms and used three of them to murder three students and three staff members. Police rapidly responded to the call on Monday morning; Hale was shot and killed in a matter of minutes. Community members are urging Tennessee lawmakers to take action against gun violence and propose gun reform legislation.

This Nashville shooting joins a long list of states and communities affected by gun violence in schools. For example, in May of 2022, Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, became another victim of gun violence. There were 21 fatalities, including two teachers and 19 children. After this horrific shooting, there has been little progress on gun reform; gun activists are still urging reform nearly a year after the school shooting. Representative Bob Freeman of Tennessee is also advocating for gun regulation to tackle the issue of ongoing gun violence: "Our children, our teachers and our neighbors were killed by a weapon of war obtained legally by someone that should never have had the ability to carry out this type of violence against our community." The Green Hills neighborhood in Nashville is horrified by this tragic loss, and prayers are sent to the devastated families.