A heavily armed former student on Monday killed six people, including 6 children, in a previously planned attack on a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, southern United States.
Nashville Police Chief John Drake identified the suspect as Audrey Hill, 28, who was later identified as transgender.
Drake said Hill, who was killed by police, left behind a statement and maps of the school detailing observation points, entry and exit, and was "prepared for a confrontation with law enforcement."
He revealed in an interview with NBC News that the suspect was likely planning a wider attack, as the statement "indicates that there will be gunfire in several locations, including the school."
Hill with a pistol and two assault rifles stormed a side entrance to The Covent, a Christian academy, and made her way while shooting, according to police.
Police identified the six victims as a six-year-old and two nine-year-olds, while the three adults killed ranged in age from 60 to 61.
One of the victims was the school's president, Catherine Kuns, according to the academy's website.
Abominable act
The US president called the shooting "abhorrent" and stressed that the armed attacks were "tearing the soul apart" of the United States.
"This is an abhorrent act," Biden said in a speech at the White House, warning that gun violence was "tearing apart the soul of our nation" and again calling on Congress to ban the sale of machine guns to individuals.
Several Tennessee lawmakers expressed shock on social media.
Republican Senator Bill Hagerty wrote on Twitter: "I am deeply saddened by the tragic news from the elementary school."
The number of licensed guns in the United States is close to 400 million firearms, and the country often sees deadly shootings.
The worst attack in 2012 was perpetrated by a psychopath at a primary school in Connecticut, killing 20 children aged 6 to 7.
This tragic incident was repeated in May 2022, when an 18-year-old man shot and killed 19 students and teachers at an elementary school in Uvaldi, Texas.