“Parents want the writing of the Tennessee School Shooter to remain secret”
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — A group of Tennessee parents whose children are participating The Covenant Schoolwhere people died in a deadly shootout in March three 9 year olds and three adultsfiled a motion Wednesday to prevent the shooter’s writings from being released to the public.
“The parents see nothing good in the publication and wish to advocate that the writings – which they believe to be the dangerous and harmful writings of a mentally impaired person – should not be published at all,” the letter reads.
Her motion comes just days after more than 60 Republicans in the Tennessee House of Representatives called for the papers to be released.
In a Monday letter to Nashville Police Chief John Drake, Jeremy Faison, chairman of the Republican caucus committee in the House of Representatives, said the timely release of the recordings was “vital to understanding the shooter’s behavior and motives” before lawmakers did hold a special session where they are expected to consider a proposal to remove firearms from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
In addition, three conservative groups had previously filed lawsuits to force Nashville police to turn over the records. The Covenant Parents are trying to intervene in these cases brought by the Tennessee Firearms Association, Star News Digital Media, and the National Police Association, a nonprofit organization that says it works to educate people about how to help police departments can.
The groups filed suit after Nashville police denied their requests for public records. Police claimed the writings are protected from publication while they are part of an ongoing investigation, but indicated they would eventually release them.
In late April, police said they were reviewing the papers for release, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee tweeted that release would be “very soon.” A week later, the police changed course and said they would await the court’s order based on the lawsuits.
Since then, the cases have become more complicated. In addition to the Covenant Parents, the Covenant School is asking for intervention, as is the church it leads, the Covenant Presbyterian Church.
The Associated Press is one of several groups that have requested the writings but have not filed suit to obtain them.
Police said it was the shooter, Audrey Hale I’ve been planning the massacre for months. Hale fired 152 shots during the attack before he was killed by police. Hale was being treated for an unknown “emotional disorder,” police said. However, authorities have not disclosed any connection between this concern and the shooting.
The three children killed in the shooting were Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. The three adults were Katherine Koonce, 60, the headmistress, caretaker Mike Hill, 61, and 61-year-old substitute teacher Cynthia Peak.
Associated Press writers Jonathan Mattise and Kimberlee Kruesi contributed to this report.
