Judge Jeanine Pirro: Children represent soft targets
‘The Five’ panel discuss the Nashville shooting Monday, with Judge Jeanine saying ‘it was clearly targeted’ and says our schools are not ‘secure’ enough.
The Covenant School (TCS) in Nashville, Tennessee, where at least three children and three adults were killed in a mass shooting on Monday morning, is a private Presbyterian school offering classes from preschool to sixth grade.
Metro Nashville Police Department officers killed the shooter, a 28-year-old Nashville woman and former student whose name has not been released.
"At one point she was a student at that school," Nashville police Chief John Drake said. "There was a vehicle nearby that gave us a clue as to who she was."
TCS has a goal "to educate twenty-first-century children in a way that prepares them to impact their culture and think in accordance with timeless Truth," according to a statement on its website from Covenant Head of School Dr. Katherine Koonce.
NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: 6 KILLED INCLUDING 3 STUDENTS, SHOOTER DEAD
Police cordon off an area after reports of a shooting at The Covenant School, Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, March 27, 2023. (Emily Zanotti/Fox News Digital)
Founded in 2001, the school, located in Nashville's Green Hills neighborhood southwest of downtown, has 33 teaching faculty and an 8:1 student-teacher ratio.
Students attend a daily chapel event and take enrichment courses, including art, Bible, library, music, physical education, STEM, world cultures, and a course called EXPLORE.
Police respond to a shooting at The Covenant School, Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, March 27, 2023. (Emily Zanotti/Fox News Digital)
Tuition ranges from $7,250 for three-day preschool to $16,500 for fifth- and sixth-graders. Covenant Presbyterian Church members pay $1,000 less for annual tuition than non-church members.
About a quarter of TCS students receive financial aid, averaging about $6,370 in aid per student.
Nashville police respond to a shooting at Covenant School in Tennessee. (Metro Nashville Police Department)
Last year, Carrie Underwood surprised TCS third- and fourth-graders for a play, according to the school's Instagram account.
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"When Carrie Underwood shows up to watch the 3rd and 4th grade musical about the Grand Ole Opry… it’s a REALLY good day, especially if you were the little girl who just played her on stage! Carrie even stayed to pose for pictures and sign autographs. We could not have asked for a better surprise for our hardworking students!" TCS wrote in a February 2022 caption.
At least three children and three adults were killed in a mass shooting on Monday morning at the school in Nashville. (Emily Zanotti/Fox News Digital)
Students returned from a week-long spring break on March 20 and are set to have a long Easter weekend beginning on April 7. Teacher conferences were scheduled for Wednesday, according to the school's website and social media pages.
More than 90% of U.S. school shootings occur at public schools, according to data compiled by the Cato Institute.
The Covenant School is a private Presbyterian school offering classes from preschool to sixth grade. (Emily Zanotti/Fox News Digital)
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Nashville PD confirmed the shooter's death in a Monday afternoon statement, adding that the school was working on reunifying parents and children a safe distance away from Burton Hills Boulevard, where the school is located.
"Two MNPD officers who entered the building and went to the sounds of gunfire engaged the shooter on the second floor and fatally shot her," police said in a Monday afternoon tweet update.
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
