FIRST ON FOX: Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett called for the manifesto by the transgender shooter at the private Presbyterian school in Nashville to be made public.
“Our trans youth are troubled,” Burchett told Fox News Digital in a late Monday statement. “If they don’t get the help they need they can grow up to have some serious issues, but I obviously don’t believe they’ll all grow up to be shooters like this.”
“We need to know what was going through this person’s head, and the manifesto should be made public,” the Tennessee Republican continued.
NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: 6 KILLED INCLUDING 3 STUDENTS, SHOOTER DEAD
The horrific tragedy that stunned the nation on Monday began when a 28-year-old female – who identified as a transgender man – entered the Covenant School carrying “assault-type rifles” and a handgun, authorities said. Covenant is a small, private Presbyterian school in Nashville with students ranging from pre-school to sixth grade.
Three children and three adults that included the head of the school were killed in the attack. The shooter, Nashville resident Audrey Elizabeth Hale, was killed by police.
Nashville police Chief John Drake said Hale appeared to have prepared for the shooting, noting that investigators found a written manifesto.
“We have also determined that there were maps drawn of the school in detail of surveillance entry points. At one point she was a student at that school,” he said. “There was a vehicle nearby that gave us a clue as to who she was.”
Police say the shooter entered the building through a side door and fired shots before moving to the second floor, where Hale was confronted by responding officers. They don’t believe she was wearing any body armor, authorities said.
A search of a Honda Fit driven by Hale to the school campus yielded “additional material,” police said. Hale also allegedly fired at responding police vehicles from a second-story window.
Hale was armed with two AR-style weapons, including a rifle and pistol, and a handgun. Two of the weapons may have been purchased legally in the Nashville area, Drake said. Investigators were probing a possible theory for a motive but did not disclose any details.
Officials at the medical center say three young students were transported to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with gunshot wounds. All three were pronounced dead after arrival. The three more adults were also pronounced dead following the attack. All three were staff at the school.
The victims were identified by police as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age 9, Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and 61-year-old Mike Hill. Koonce was the head of school at Covenant, according to the school’s website.
The Covenant School is a private Christian institution for students up to 6th grade, according to its website.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Louis Casiano contributed reporting.