Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old former Covenant School student who committed a deadly shooting at the school on Monday, meticulously prepared the attack, according to authorities. The body cam footage of school shooter showed how she entered with a huge gun and smashed the glass doors.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Nashville Police Chief John Drake said that Hale's parents, who shared a home with the gunman, claimed that Hale was receiving medical treatment for an "emotional issue."
According to Drake, the gunman had numerous papers, maps, and sketches of the school's entrance. Drake added that police are aware that Hale left his house early on Monday with a red bag, and that Hale's mother was unaware that the bag contained guns.
Police are still trying to determine why Hale went on the shooting spree at the school. The shooter's gender identification is unknown, but according to the police, Hale was given the gender "female" at birth and used "male pronouns" on social media.
Averianna Patton, a former basketball teammate who told CNN's Don Lemon she's "still trying to digest it all," received an unsettling Instagram message from Hale less than 20 minutes before the shooting.
“I knew her well when we were kids,” Patton told Lemon on CNN.Patton, who is now a radio DJ in Nashville, claimed that she hasn't been close to the suspect since they were kids and that she has only ever referred to Hale as Audrey or "she."
"One day this will make more sense," stated the Instagram message Patton claimed she received at 9:57 am. "I’ve left more than enough evidence behind. But something bad is about to happen."