The Covenant Presbyterian Church of Nashville, Tennessee, wants to prevent some of The Covenant School shooter Audrey Hale's manifesto from being released to the public.
Citing a recent motion filing, WSMV reported that Covenant attorneys are requesting the court permit them to "protect its interests" after the Tennessee Firearms Association and Tennessee-based private investigator Clara Brewer, acting on behalf of the National Police Association (NPA), filed lawsuits seeking the records.
According to WSMV, the groups are interested in the personal journals and other writings recovered from Hale's home after she gunned down three 9-year-olds and three adults at the private Christian school on March 27.
In a tweet May 3, the Metro Nashville Police Department said, "Due to pending litigation filed this week, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department has been advised by counsel to hold in abeyance the release of records related to the shooting at The Covenant School pending orders or direction of the court."
Fox News reported that The Covenant School is seeking to shield information related to the floor plans of its facility, as well as personnel information, and that the NPA does not object.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday afternoon and a decision is expected in June, according to Fox.
Hale wrote a manifesto, kept journals and created hand-drawn diagrams and maps of the school building, with possible entry points, police said after responding officers killed her.
According to its website, The Covenant School opened in 2001 as an offshoot of the Covenant Presbyterian Church and enrolled children from pre-K through sixth grade.
Police identified the 9-year-old victims as the pastor's daughter, Hallie Scruggs; Evelyn Dieckhaus; and William Kinney. The adult victims were Katherine Koonce, 60; Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, 61.
Koonce had led the Presbyterian school since July 2016, according to her LinkedIn profile. Investigators said Peak was a substitute teacher and Hill was a custodian.
Court records indicated that Hale had no criminal history in Metro Nashville or Davidson County.
Hale reportedly was seeing a doctor for an emotional disorder and had legally purchased seven guns from five stores leading up to the attack, police said.
Armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, Hale stormed the school at approximately 10:15 a.m. March 27, after blasting out a side door.
The first victim, Hill, sustained fatal gunshot wounds when Hale shot her way into the building. According to city officials, Koonce heard the first shots while she was on a Zoom call. She then hung up and confronted Hale. Police later found her dead outside her office.
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