Police Identify Officers Who Took Out Nashville Shooter, Release Dramatic Video

Nashville Police Department Officers Michael Collazo (L) and Rex Englebert in undated photos. Nashville Police Department

The two Nashville police officers who responded to the Covenant School shooting and fatally wounded the perpetrator have been identified and dramatic video has been released showing the killer shooting her way into the school and looking for victims.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) identified the two officers in a statement Monday that provided new details about the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville at the hands of heavily armed Audrey Elizabeth Hale.

“Those two officers are Officer Rex Englebert, a four-year MNPD veteran, and Officer Michael Collazo, a nine-year MNPD veteran,” the MNPD said.

Englebert and Collazo encountered Hale in the common area on the second floor of the school, from where she had fired through a window at arriving police cars.

“Two members of an officer team fired on Hale and fatally wounded her,” the MNPD statement said.

Six people were killed, including three 9-year-old children.

The MNPD also released chilling video showing Hale arriving at The Covenant School in a Honda Fit and then shooting her way into the building and gaining entry.

Hale was heavily armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a 9 millimeter handgun and a “significant” amount of ammunition, police said.

Police said Hale’s attack was “calculated and planned” and she had reportedly written a manifesto that included a detailed map of the school.

MPND spokesman Don Aaron said at a news conference on Monday that a search of Hale’s residence revealed additional evidence.

“Writings recovered from Hale revealed that her attack was calculated and planned,” Aaron said. “A search warrant executed at Hale’s Brightwood Avenue home resulted in the seizure of a sawed-off shotgun, a second shotgun, and other evidence.”

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) has called on police to publicly release the manifesto allegedly written by Hale, who reports indicate identified as transgender.

Speaking to Fox News late on Monday, Burchett said, “Our trans youth are troubled.”

“If they don’t get the help they need they can grow up to have some serious issues, but I obviously don’t believe they'll all grow up to be shooters like this,” he said. “We need to know what was going through this person’s head, and the manifesto should be made public.”

Officers at an active shooter event that took place at Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, in Nashville, Tenn., on March 27, 2023. Metro Nashville Police Department via AP

Victims Identified

Police have also identified the six victims.

They were named Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs, all aged 9, and Mike Hill, 61, Cynthia Peak, 61, and Katherine Koonce, 60, who was the head of the school.

Authorities do not yet have a clear motive for the shooting but MNPD Chief John Drake told NBC News that investigators believed the shooting stemmed from “some resentment” Hale harbored “for having to go to that school” when she was younger.

In a post on Twitter late Monday, Burchett said he and his wife Kelly are “praying for everyone at The Covenant School, especially the families of the shooting victims.”

“No one should have to go through that kind of horrific event or lose a loved one like that,” Burchett said. “I’m so thankful to those brave folks who brought down the shooter and took care of the students and their families.”

The Covenant School is a private Christian institution founded in 2001 and teaches children up to sixth grade, according to its website.

Katabella Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.