[101] Covenant School - Nashville, Tennessee

We have an active shooter. We have an after shoots. Go ahead and be clear, that's a mass casualty. Welcome to Active Shooter, a podcast that covers the wys, the hows, and the aftermath of active shooter and mass casualty events. I have an active shooter in a building. A checking call as they our big attack. We got jocks fires four fifteen as Buge ninety one, sound like, Oh I'm at a fire active shooter. It's of an active shooter, active shooter, active shooter in mash casualty incidents.

Thank you for listening. You are listening to Active Shooter, a podcast that may contain adult themes, explicit language, and graphic depictions of violence. Portions of this show may be traumatic for those under eighteen. Listener discretion is advised. Breaking news at a Nashville police confirm that they're at a school shooting. There Covenant School, a private Christian school. It's according to their website. We learned this from ABC News not long ago Awful News. Three pediatric patients

were taken to the hospital suffering from gunshot wounds. All three pediatric patients were confirmed dead on arrival. Police we know also engage the shooter, and the shooter is also dead. We're told that one person was taken to the hospital. The severity of the injuries are not known at this point. Atf and FBI are also assisting with this. Students are being sent home. Of course, a lot going on here, and we'll bring you more information as we

get it throughout the rest of this half hour. On Monday, March twenty seventh, twenty twenty three, classes at the Covenant School were in full swing, and each person in attendance was entirely unaware that their lives were set to change course in such a virulent manner. The shooting lasted for less than twenty

minutes from start to finish. It's a painfully meager amount of time when measured against the length of a school day, Yet those minutes likely moved in slow motion, capturing and freezing the panic and dread each individual felt into little snapshots that will continuously quell up unexpectedly as painful memories that cut like a knife. Twenty minutes is such an inconsiderable amount of time, yet it's long enough to

unequivocally change the lives of hundreds of unsuspecting peace unsuspecting children. Today's case is dedicated to the lives and memories of the six injured survivors and the six shooting victims, Evelyn Decous, Hallie Scruggs, William Kinney, Cynthia Peake, Katherine

Koontz, and Mike Hill. Active Shooter the podcast is a High five Holly production, and I'm your host j T. If you've listened to our prior episodes, you know that the Active Shooter podcast team has taken THEE No Notoriety pledge and we will not be sharing the real name of the shooters that we cover. We will be giving the shooters a pseudonym and refer to them by

that name throughout the episode. This will help in clearing up any confusion in the story while remaining true to our pledge in not naming the shooter by their actual name. We will refer to today's shooter as Pat. The Covenant School was located at thirty three Burton Hills Boulevard in the Green Hills neighborhood, situated approximately ten miles south of central Nashville, Tennessee. The school is an American

parochial elementary school within a Presbyterian church for preschool through sixth graders. There was a student population fluctuating between one hundred ninety five and two hundred and ten students, while the faculty ranged anywhere from thirty three and forty two staff members. The school was founded in two thousand one as a ministry of Nashville's Covenant Presbyterian Church, and their motto was Shepherding hearts, empowering minds, celebrating childhood.

It was a sunny, mild day and spring was in the air. Pat a former student of the school, cruised into the school's parking lot driving a Honda Fit. Campus security footage captured him parking the Fit at nine fifty four a m. And he sat in the vehicle for a short period where he proceeded to open the Instagram app to send a message to a friend named Avrianna Patten. The message, which was sent in nine fifty seven a m, read simply quote, I'm planning to die to day. You'll probably hear about

me on the news after I die. Avriana, known to Pat through middle school basketball, was startled, but before she could react, she was alerted to another incoming message, which read quote, my family doesn't know what I'm about to do one day this will make sense. I've left enough evidence behind, but something bad is about to happen. Truly concerned after that statement, she took a screen shot of the message and forwarded it to her dad,

asking what she should do. Her father suggested that she contact the National Suicide Hotline, which she did. The hotline directed Avreanna to call the Sheriff's office, which again she did at ten thirteen a m. The entire time, she was operating under the impression that Pat was intending to take his own life, not the lives of six innocent others. Minutes before Avreanna called the police,

Pat was exiting his car. From the car, he extracted a five P fifty six AR fifteen, a nine millimeter handgun, and a Celtec nine millimeter sub two thousand carbine from a red bag. Pat's mother would later confirm that she saw him leave that morning carrying a red bag, though she allegedly wasn't aware that there were firearms inside. Pat snagged a tremendous amount of ammunition to carry along with his weapons. He planned to hurt many people, the

more the better in his sadistic eyes. Wearing a white shirt, camouflage pants, a red hat, and a black tactical vest. Pat walked rapidly toward the front entrance of the school at ten eleven am. He raised a firearm and started to shoot through the glass doors. The glass shattered, allowing Pat to climb through and gain entry inside of the school halls and of course the classrooms full of children. Pat had no target in mind. Everyone was a

target. If you came into his line of sight, you were a target. So he aimed and fired. We just came back from the restaurant about ten twenty five, outside visiting, and we heard many shots, just like really really loud, somewhere louder than the other the others, And we first thought it was maybe roough roughers, and but it got, it got, It was way too loud. So we all of a sudden saw the helicopter

up in the air. Surveillance video inside of the school depicted Pat stalking the hallways with his gun, and at precisely the same moment, the first of several nine to one one calls was placed, two of which came from adults who managed to escape the building as soon as the initial shots ran out. I'm hearing rapid fire. If I hear another shot, hearing more shoes, trying to stay quiet. I don't know what's going on there, but well, do you have a school person or to you? I'm not sure they

would be packing a big job. It is for security, but I don't I mean, we don't have security guard. Do we have a staff? A beloved teacher, Sixty one year old Cynthia Peake or Cindy, was called Ceci by her very closest friends. She was among the shooting victims. She was born on August twenty first, nineteen sixty one, in Liesville, Louisiana, to Nell and doctor William Broyles, and graduated from Texas Christian University with

a degree in education. She and her husband, Chris Peake, married on November twenty seventh, nineteen ninety seven, in Fair Hope, Alabama, after meeting years earlier in Nashville. Cindy taught at Christ Presbyterian Academy, along with a few other schools. The ambitious woman began her own home school, pod named Peak Academy, but was also a staff member at Campus Crusade, which she has been doing since graduating from college. She even taught swimming outside of

the classroom. Cindy leaves behind five children, Drew, Ellie, Mathe Stacy, and Christopher, as well as four grandchildren, Holden, Harper, Elliston and Rhodes. The three students who were killed were watching a presentation from doctor Britney Grayson, a doctor at aic Kejabe Hospital in Kenya. Brittany was doing Christian missionary work and teaching the students about it, as well as teaching them

how to pronounce several different words in Swahili. The doctor later lamented on social media about how she regretted leaving the school when she did, which was only minutes before the attack. She felt she could have offered much needed aid to the shooting victims, and indeed her presence likely would have been a godsend,

though it's equally a blessing that she managed to get out safely. One of the students, Evelyn Marie Decus, was a nine year old born on August second, twenty thirteen, and was described by her family as a radiant, sparkly soul with an ever present twinkle in her eye. She loved to laugh, and she freely gave warm hugs to all, most especially to her most cherished loved ones, including her best friend who also happened to be her big

sister, Eleanor. Evelyn loved doing crafts and drawing, and was happy of spending time with her parents, grandparents, and even her aunt's uncles and cousins. She was fascinated with learning about the world around her and had a deep appreciation for music. An aspiring artist in her own right, Evelyn was known to create her own songs on the ukulele, guitar, and piano, and her angelic voice was reminiscent of her most favorite musician of all time, Taylor

Swift. Music was far from her only interest, though she played softball and basketball. Evelyn was a lover of all animals and had even requested a pet rat for her tenth birthday. The rat would be in addition to her two dogs, Birdie and Mabel, and her enormous stuffed animal collection, which consisted of only tigers, all of whom were aptly named Tony. Another student who was killed was nine year old halle Ladell scrug She was born in Dallas,

Texas, on June twenty fourth, twenty thirteen. Halley was the only daughter of Jada and Chad Scrugs. Chad is the Covenant Presbyterian Church of Nashville's senior pastor, but he wasn't present at the school when his precious daughter was killed. Halley was a popular little girl who was full of life. Her favorite things were unicorns and ninjas, and she loved to play basketball and soccer.

The third student who was killed, William Kinney, also known as Will, was a caring brother, son, nephew, and friend who was the happiest playing baseball. Will was very much looking forward to the upcoming season as both an infielder and outfielder for the Creeve Hall Reads. Those who knew Will described him as quote unfailingly kind, gentle, quick to laugh, and always inclusive of others. And indeed he constantly had friends over at his house playing and

doing young boy things. A GoFundMe was established for Will's family, and it raised over two hundred and eighty five thousand dollars. In the midst of the gunfire blasting through the halls of the school, local police were alerted to a code nine thousand, which signals a deadly aggressor. At ten eighteen am. Surveillance video showed pat entering a church office and between ten nineteen ten twenty pat could be seen pacing the hallways with his weapon raised as officers arrived on the

scene. By ten twenty one am, teachers said the school was in lockdown mode. However, there were at least two students missing. Another of the ad adults that was killed was fifty nine year old doctor Katherine Kotz. Born on December eighteenth, nineteen sixty three, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to

Richard and Anne Shirley. She attended Saint Joseph Catholic School and University High School before enrolling at Louisiana State University. After her freshman year, Catherine transferred to Vanderbilt University, where she graduated cum laude in special education with a concentration in severe and profound disabilities. She started her career teaching at Susan Gray School in Vanderbilt, and in nineteen eighty six she married Richard S. Kuntz the Third,

also known as Dick. The young couple moved to Atlanta and then to Marryetta, Georgia, where she worked in various special education classrooms. During her time in Atlanta, Catherine earned a Master of Education degree from Georgia State University in the midst of her schooling, Catherine and Dick managed to begin their little family of four, producing a son named David in nineteen ninety and a daughter named Anna. In nineteen ninety six, the family moved to Brentwood, Tennessee,

which is located near Nashville. There, Catherine earned a Doctor of Education degree from Treveca University, Nashville, achieving the prestigious title of doctor. In twenty sixteen, Doctor Catherine became the head of Covenant School. The well rounded woman enjoyed playing pickleball and traveling outside of the school. The responding police units were securing the perimeter when pat began to shoot in officers from the second floor

of the school at approximately ten twenty five am. A unit of police entered the building and started to clear the school, sweeping each classroom on the first floor. Police later reported that when they crossed the threshold into the school, they immediately smelled gunpowder. They were forced to step over to ceased bodies in order to continue forward moving towards the threat. One such individual was the last of the adult shooting victims, sixty one year old Mike Hill. Mike was

born on August seventh, nineteen seven. Seventy seven and was affectionately called Big Mike. He was a nature officionado who absolutely loved to cook. A gentle giant, he was physically large, strong and tough, but inside he was a huge teddy bear, soft and sweet. He attended church services regularly at Stephens Valley, and he leaves behind seven children and fourteen grandchildren. Meanwhile, at ten twenty six a m. Another team of five officers quietly crept through

the lockdown school, slowly approaching the second floor towards Pat. As they crested the top of the stairs, they spotted him in an open area that was situated like a lobby. He stood standing alone near a bank of windows, firing outside at approaching law enforcement officers. Rex Engelbert and Michael Colaso fired at Pat, each striking him four times. He was killed instantly. That they's going to be first four of meanline. You I'm making insured on the front

side. Pants are all locked down, but we have two picks that we don't know where they are. Okay, Okay, this man yes into my window, so they're upstairs. Hey, gimmy, gimme three. Let's get three all the way down. Then Paul spellowshipall the end of this Paul Spellowshipaul. There they just said they were gun huss down there and then upstairs for a bunch of picks. Let's go, I need three one more. Let's go. That's your police, open up, I me, I mean I

don't know where he is. Let's your belief the door, okay, bathroom, bathroom, small bathrooms clear. Next, let's go show you the back door door with me, with me, hold the door next open. I got it, I got it that. Let's go. Hmm. Now just go right a lot, father, lot, take this looking, take this, No, that's lock Take this store, take the stores. Take it. M m h m hm m hm. It gets upstairs. Sounds like up what's the help, bo what's the healthy beer? Really? Boo?

What's help saying? Yeah? Away from the doing? What's not your hand? Away from the doing? I already can't sucking. There's a lot of chuny. I hope the air they go take it? Four? We read no locked door? Where did they go? In First War? First word? First? First hold there, y'all, somebody hold there, hit that door. Rifle first rifle, first blue, go go go go go go go hoo hoo. I'm with you. Go away, shut shuck. Hit right here, let me right here, right here. It's locked. Go

hit that stairs, hit the stairs. No those stairs, those stands. No, no, no, no, forget up up, keep pushing shots fine shots, fine shot fine. Moved hand right right right, pushing lpv U pushing lp v up All right, move move what'tshout? What's you? Stop moving? Stop? Move thead? What's left? What's left? Sus

back down, Sus back down, Hey, hold the air. A minute later, and fourteen minutes after the first nine one one call, police jumped into a different kind of action, one of clearing the school of the living, rendering aid to the injured, and seeing that the deceased were carefully taken away. Later investigations showed that a total of one hundred and fifty two rounds were fired, one hundred twenty six from the rifle and twenty six from the

nine millimeter. The scene was chaotic and it was an utter bloodbath. A reunification center was established at the Woodmont Baptist Church, and the students, faculty, and others were bussed there. It was only two miles from the school. As petrified parents arrived, they gathered into the silent church, calm yet

tensely waiting for information. Volunteers pushed around carts with water coolers, handing out cups to worried family members who desperately needed a distraction from the dark and terrible places their minds visited. As the buses arrived at the Baptist church, relieved students lowered them their windows, some frantically waving and hollering out to their parents, most of whom were able to breathe again, knowing their child was safe.

Three students, a police officer, and two adults from the school were rushed to Vanderbilt Medical Center, where they were treated for various injuries and ultimately were released. It was reported that there were no less than fifty emergency vehicles, including patrol cars and ambulances, that had responded to the school. Teachers at the Covenant School had done an active shooter training not long before the shooting.

Experts have said that the police response to the shooting was quote textbook and the antithesis of the response to the Vivaldi shooting, where officers waited and excruciating seventy seven minutes before engaging with the shooter, while the majority of public schools in Nashville have public safety officers on the campus. The Governant School did not,

making the swift police response all the more noteworthy. Initial shorts indicated that the shooter was a female, though it was later corrected and the shooter was reportedly a transgender man using male pronouns. Pat was born female on March twenty fourth, nineteen ninety five, transitioning to he him pronouns at a later time in his life. He had one sibling, a brother, and they both lived at home with their parents in a nice neighborhood about three miles from the

Covenant School. His dad was self employed and mother was a proud Christian woman who frequently posted on social media about how society needs to keep guns and weapons out of schools. Pat attended the Covenant School as a third and fourth grader in two thousand and five and two thousand and six. He wasn't listed as a student in the yearbook for fifth or sixth grade, and the former headmaster

of the school believes that may have transferred after the fourth grade. The headmaster recalled that Pat was a typical student who didn't stand out in any way as far as bad or troubling. Behavior. Patt attended middle school and Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School of the Arts before eventually graduating from Nashville School of the

Arts in twenty fourteen. Because there wasn't a track team at the Nashville Arts School, students were permitted to try out for the Martin Luther King Junior High School team, which Pat did, running as part of the girls four by four hundred meter relay team in the state championships. He excelled at track and was voted most Athletic in the school yearbook. After high school, Pat attended and graduated from Nassi College of Art and Design in Nashville in twenty twenty two.

During his time at Nassi, he achieved several awards, including most Improved in Class Participation, and even the former vice president of the college recalled Pat as being the sweetest little thing. After college, Pat used his talents as a great graphic designer to create logos for companies. In addition to his creative job, Pat worked part time delivering groceries for ship and spent most of his free time creating art, watching movies, playing sports and video games, and

cuddling with his two cats. He maintained an art portfolio online, and it contained illustrated art, including a children's book that he had written, cartoon animals, professional logos, and what looked to be a self portrait. Those who knew Patt never saw any signs that he would carry out such a horrific shooting, and one friend, a neighbor in particular, claimed that Pat quote was

very sweet. I don't know what happened. It's very scary. And yet another neighbor said that Pat was quote a nice, normal person, maybe a little quiet. A college classmate from Nassei was an illustration major like Pat, and recalled that they thought Pat was much younger than he actually was because he

dressed like a child and even brought soft animals to class. The classmate thought Pat had a Peter Payon's sort of complex, wanting to stay a kid forever, and describe Pat's artwork as quote, it couldn't be more childish, family friendly, g rated to a nauseating degree, almost filled with very garish, bright colors. In February of twenty twenty two, there was a birthday party

for Mia Phillips at Pinobe's Bar and Restaurant. Mia was a former teammate of Pat's but Pat wasn't invited to the party, although several other former teammates were Pat arrived even before Mia, and once the party was in full swing, Pat began to slur his words and stumbled around as if he was extremely intoxicated. The strange thing was no one had seen Pat drink anything, so it seemed incredibly odd that he would show up to a party one that he wasn't

even invited to and proceeded to pretend to get blitzed. People were bewildered and began to get an off putting vibe from Pat in the event that he really was very drunk. Mia and others at the party tried to get Pat a ride home, but he staunchly refused, and eventually they allowed him to leave. The whole event was perplexing, and Patt never offered an explanation for his

behavior. Averreanna, the friend that Pat contacted in the morning of the shooting, would later say that she didn't really know why Pat reached out to her. They were on the same basketball team in high school, but hadn't kept in touch over the years, aside from a brief social media interaction here and there. However, Pat did openly support his friend's budding career in journalism, attending some TV tapings or events that she hosted, and even created a few

Instagram posts featuring Avrianna's photos alongside inspirational quotes and sayings. Averrianna recalled seeing Pat a few weeks before the shooting at a celebration of life for a former teammate who had died in a car accident in August of twenty twenty two. While they exchanged greetings, they didn't spend the evening catching up or anything, which left her feeling slightly confused as to why Pat chose her to message just before

the shooting. Though he left behind plenty of writings and letters, it doesn't appear that Pat ever left any sort of reason for why he singled out Avriana. Pat's parents later told police that Patt was regularly seeing a doctor for what was described as quote an emotional disorder, but the specific disorder and any type of treatment that was being received is unknown and wasn't clarified by the parents.

In the recent years leading up to the shooting, Pat seemed to regress back to a middle school age, wherein he became so engrossed in the lives of his former middle school basketball teammates that it boarded on obsession. Because of this unhealthy fascination, Pat had several uncomfortable encounters on social media with some of his

old teammates, leaving one to describe Pat's behavior as quote stockerish. After the shooting, a former teacher who was friends with Pat on Facebook told reports that after witnessing Pat's posts, she felt he was struggling emotionally, and that when she knew him as a student, he was confident, but not egotistical, very quiet, and an exceptionally talented artist. The teacher thought Pat would eventually

become a professional illustrator for children's books. About a year before the shooting, one of Pat's basketball teammates died, and Pat took to Facebook to lament about the death and to tell the world that she had changed her name and wished for others to use he him pronouns, which everyone did. Despite no apparent or obvious signs of the why, It's painfully clear that Pat meticulously planned this

attack. He had drawn a detailed map of the school's entry points and even conducted surveillance on the school between April and May of twenty twenty two, he

enrolled in three separate handgun training lessons at the Royal Range USA. A behavioral threat assessment that was later done on Pat represented that it was nearly positive that his motivation for the shooting was a sense of resentment for attending the school, and it was equally certain that Pat intended to die by an officer involved shooting or forcing an officer to shoot him, also known as suicide by cop.

Nashville Police Chief John Drake reported that Pat's folks believed their son shouldn't own guns, and indeed believed he didn't own a firearm. They knew he previously owned one gun, but they thought he had sold it. They were wrong. Pat had firearms hidden all over the house. He legally purchased seven different guns from five different local gun shops. Three of those weapons were used in the

shooting. After police searched the family's home, they located a plethora of evidence, along with two of Pat's other guns, including a twelve gage Mossburg five ninety and a twenty gage Winchester Model twelve hundred. One of the long guns was sawed off, though it's not clear which. A manifesto was also located in the search. The statement included information about the school, including a map and a drawing, and other locations that the attack could take place, including

locations such as a mall in Nashville, and targets included family members. Journals were unearthed, and they described details of other school shootings. Pat also left an easy to find suicide note tucked under his laptop, along with a list of passwords, two memoirs, and notes about firearms training. Several journals, writings, and drawings were found in Pat's car, along with plainly documented plans

and drawings of the school. It was evident several of the materials were created over a period of time, and it was also obvious that Pat was planning an attack for quite some time. Perhaps because of the long time intricate planning, Pat never displayed any signs that he was about to morph into an unrecognizable

monster who brutally murdered children and adults alike. Two days before the shooting, Pat visited his friend Nicki Tidwell. They celebrated Pat's birthday, and Nikki later reported that he seemed completely normal, and her mom agreed, suggesting that though Pat and her daughter Niki were introverts, who spent hours in Nicky's room playing

video games and drawing. She never saw an issue nor identified a single red flag concerning pat During the very first church service following the shooting, which was held on April fourteenth, twenty twenty three, a bold, beaming rainbow arched over the Covenant School. It's as if the victims were sending a message of hope and love to all. Students returned attending classes on a limited or phased in basis to the Brentwood Hills Church of Christ. Half of the Covenant Schools

returned on April eighteenth, and the other half returned on April nineteenth. On the first day classes resumed, the halls were covered in white, black, red, and silver balloons, which were a representation of the Covenant School colors. Parents, teachers, and the students of Brentwood Hills wanted to send a welcoming message to their traumatized peers. The Covenant School will not commence the twenty twenty three to twenty four school year on the MA and campus, but instead

will begin at an alternative location at the Brentwood Hills Church of Christ. Letters were sent to all of the families of the Covenant school students, indicating that meaningful changes would be made to ensure the school's needs are met. The date for the reopening of the Covenant School at the Burton Hills campus will not be

determined until after necessary modifications have been made. We all have the unique ability to help prevent such a catastrophic event from happening if we keep our eyes and ears open and never hesitate to report when something or someone just doesn't seem right. With a delicate balance of mental health reform, education, active shooter training, and common sense gun laws, we may one day realize the dream, the dream that there will be no more active shootings. We pray that love

will prevail overhete. Too many have died, we should say to ourselves, not one more. In the meantime, we urge our listeners to stay aware of your surroundings and keep in touch with your loved ones. If you see something, say something, you never know how many lives you'll be saving. Thank you for listening to today's episode of Active Shooter the podcast. Remember, if you see something, say something, there's no telling how many lives you

may be saving. A big thank you to Darren Curtis, who composed some of the songs on our show. You can find him online at www dot Darren Curtis music dot com. Make sure to check us out on social media. You can find us on Facebook at Active Shooter the Podcast and on Twitter at podcast Active. Thank you, and be safe.