EXCLUSIVE: Covenant Shooter’s Former Schoolmates Recall Past Culture of Bullying at School

Audrey Hale during a morning chapel service while she attended The Covenant School in the early 2000s. Photo provided to The Epoch Times

Editor’s Note: Former Covenant School students, Mary and Dorothy, along with their parents, spoke about their experiences with The Covenant School and Covenant Presbyterian Church in the early 2000s.

They agreed to speak about their experience to The Epoch Times on the condition of anonymity, out of fear of reprisal and damage to their reputation by speaking out. For clarity, these sources have been given pseudonyms.

The identities of the sources used in this article have been verified by The Epoch Times and their experiences were shared in a series of interviews over the course of May and June.

NASHVILLE—In 2001, a starter school began with a small student body in Green Hills, a wealthy neighborhood on the south side of downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The school sits atop a prominent hill next to a church on a property that is today valued at over $30 million.

Back then, it would have been impossible to imagine that one of the first students at the school would go on a rampage 22 years later, killing six people, including three children.

The Covenant School at its beginning had only a few dozen students as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church. One of those first students at the school was a girl known by those who interacted with her as a tomboy who leaned on the quiet, if not socially awkward side.

Her name is now synonymous with the worst day in the history of the church, school, and Nashville. On March 27, former student Audrey Hale, 28, returned to the place where she spent years of her childhood in a fit of rage, leaving six innocent people dead in her trail, including three 9-year-old children.

Chief Believed Shooter May Have Carried Resentment

The Metro Nashville Police Department has not yet released writings left behind by Hale or provided a motive, leaving the public in the dark as to what motivated her to commit such an atrocity.

MNPD Chief John Drake said in the days surrounding the shooting that Hale left behind a “manifesto,” which has since been consistently referred to as a “series of writings” and journals.

Chief of Police John Drake delivers a press briefing at the entrance of The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn., on March 28, 2023. Seth Herald/Getty Images

“We have belief, or we feel very strongly, that she went … to that actual school and so there’s some belief that there was some resentment for having to go to that school,” Drake said in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt on the evening of the shooting. “I don’t have all the details of that just yet … and that’s why this incident occurred.”

He said in a follow-up to Holt that the writings pointed investigators to a motive and was unsure at the time if Hale—who reportedly identified as a transgender man using the name Aiden—was influenced by her gender identity.

Asking Why

Now approaching 14 weeks after the assault, the public has the same level of information as to why Hale committed such an atrocity as was known on those first few days.

While the public does not know why Hale took on her fit of rage—her reasons for doing so, whatever they may have been, do not justify such evil as the brutal murder of innocent children and staff—a horror extended to hundreds of Covenant children, their families, and an entire community.

In the two decades since Columbine, anti-bullying campaigns have become prevalent in schools across the nation, as a way to prevent such atrocities from recurring.

It is not possible to speak with Hale or view her writings at this time to gain insight into her brutal murder spree and to possibly prevent future tragedies.

However, accounts from students who attended the school at the same time as Hale, backed by their parents, reveal some students had a less than ideal experience with Covenant School during the several years Hale attended.

Covenant’s Early Students Reflect

“It is no surprise to me that Covenant was someone’s villain origin story,” Mary, a former schoolmate of the March 27 shooter, told The Epoch Times.

Mary said her time at Covenant was the worst of her school career, marred by bullying, a culture of favoritism, and disregard for students who were perceived as different.

A balloon with names of the victims is seen at a memorial at the entrance to The Covenant School, in Nashville, Tenn., on March 29, 2023. Wade Payne/AP Photo

Her comparison of her time at Covenant to her remaining elementary and secondary school career paints a stark contrast in educational environments.

“I went to four schools and looking back, this was the worst school experience I had growing up,” she said. “It was a very abusive environment, and the most severe bullying I’ve ever encountered in school went completely unchecked.”

Mary perceived a hierarchy within the elementary school, where the status and influence of a student’s parents seemed to determine their treatment.

From the outset, she said she felt marked as different and “at-risk” which in her opinion led her to be subjected to intense scrutiny and emotionally damaging punishment.

Mary described various instances where a school leader would scream at her and other children in a way that was “blood-curdling.”

“I remember being yanked by my arm and forcefully led into rooms by teachers,” she said. “Even if I was a difficult child that still would have been really inappropriate, but I wasn’t, so it makes it even worse.”

She also recounted being the target of relentless bullying by a church leader’s child and their friends, which she said went unaddressed by the teachers, creating an environment where the bullies appeared above the law due to their parents’ status.

Isolation of a child

Toward the end of her enrollment, Mary experienced incidents of isolation and punishment that led to a distrust of authority into her adulthood.

In one incident, she recalls being made to lie down on a blanket on the floor while staff discussed her in a negative light in her presence. Additionally, she remembers being pulled out of class repeatedly for “interviews” with school administrators about her home life, without her family’s “knowledge or consent.”

Mary maintains that these experiences led her to distrust of authority from older women in particular, and a fear of being chastised by authority figures resulting in embarrassment.

More Claims of Favoritism

Dorothy, another former schoolmate of Hale, recounts a similarly complex dynamic within the school environment, where special treatment, harsh discipline, and bullying were perceived.

Dorothy recalled one bullying incident where a boy was punched in the face, bloodied, and terrified to report the bullying to school authorities. The boy was new to the school and did not keep attending, according to her recollection.

Dorothy said the atmosphere within the school seemed to foster an “us versus them” mentality, wherein certain students were considered troublemakers and treated harshly, while a blind eye was turned to true troublemakers.

The home of the Nashville Christian School shooter sits quietly in its south Nashville neighborhood on March 31, 2023, days after police agencies raided the home following the shooting. Chase Smith/The Epoch Times

Dorothy alleges that she observed teachers treating other schoolmates differently, such as Mary, subjecting them to embarrassment in front of their peers and disproportionate punishments.

“Some teachers had a really short temper,” she said. “Looking back on it is dark. I would never say some of the stuff that was said to us to a child. It was very religious and strict, in my opinion.”

Former Schoolmates Paint Shooter as Tomboy, Shy

Though Dorothy and Mary said they were not particularly close to Hale, they remember Hale as sometimes being excluded.

Dorothy said she remembers Hale as someone who was a bit of an outcast in school, falling into a group of girls she tried to help feel included during playtime when different grades would interact.

Hale’s unconventional attire and inclination to participate in activities traditionally associated with boys made her stand out, leading to further scrutiny and exclusion.

Mary said she believes she could defend herself when she was bullied, but does not recall the same conclusion about Hale, acknowledging the challenges others such as autistic children may have faced in defending themselves.

Reflecting on her time at the school, Dorothy stated that Hale was intelligent and gentle, but socially awkward. Dorothy surmised that the institution was ill-equipped to handle students with mental challenges or learning disabilities.

Dorothy believes that children on the autism spectrum—which it is believed Hale was on according to her recollection and The Daily Beast—or those with ADHD, might not have received the support and understanding they needed.

Instead, she believes, these students were labeled as problematic and subjected to punishment rather than receiving the appropriate accommodations.

In recent times, Dorothy’s mother saw Hale and was struck by her thin appearance. She mentioned seeing Hale two years ago and noticing a forlorn and depressed demeanor, reminiscent of a young person feeling wounded and lost.

Tragedy Comes

The mothers of Dorothy and Mary said they are heartbroken and praying for the families of The Covenant School.

A young girl moves toward the items left in front of the photo of Hallie Scruggs, one of three nine-year-olds killed along with school staff at The Covenant School shooting in Nashville on March 27. Chase Smith/The Epoch Times

Mary also expressed heartbreak upon learning about the brutal murders and the involvement of a former schoolmate in such a dark way.

“I was heartbroken to hear that children and faculty had been murdered,” Mary said. “And I was heartbroken to see that a schoolmate of mine had gone on such a dark path, particularly a schoolmate I remember as being a really sweet kid. My first thought was that I wasn’t surprised because of the level of abuse I perceived. It made sense to me that Covenant could be someone’s villain origin story, especially if someone already had mental issues.”

Mary’s Call to Action

Mary, in particular, said it is important for parents to take an active role in their children’s lives, ensuring they are neither victims nor perpetrators of bullying, as children rarely have the words to articulate their experiences or recognize right from wrong at a young age.

“Letting bullying go unchecked is something that the average American can fight against,” Mary said. “It can literally save lives. A lot of people respond to bullying with either violence or suicide. This is a very common thing, and no one can combat bullying better than the parent of a bully.”

Church and School Choose Not to Respond

The Epoch Times reached out to the public relations firm representing the church and school for comment on the lived experiences of former students. They chose not to respond to a series of questions, instead issuing a brief statement.

“Covenant continues to focus on caring for students, families, teachers and staff through this incredibly difficult time for the community,” a spokesperson said. “Not even three months removed from unspeakable tragedy, the school is in the midst of the grieving and healing process. Responding to conjecture and recollections from 20-plus years ago is not appropriate at this time.”

The Epoch Times also reached out to the attorney representing Hale’s parents in ongoing legal battles over the release of their daughter’s writings, but did not receive a comment prior to publication.