“I think I lost my daughter”: Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale’s mother seeks privacy

Norma Hale, the mother of suspect Audrey Hale in the much-talked about Nashville gun violence incident, has requested privacy in the aftermath of the same. Norma, who is also a gun control activist, recalled her posts talking about awareness regarding gun violence. She said:

“It’s very, very difficult right now. I think I just lost my daughter.”

Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of a school shooting that may not be suitable for everyone. Discretion is advised.

Disclaimer: There is confusion about the shooter's gender identity and this article will use they/them pronouns while referring to the shooter.

On March 27, Audrey entered the school building in Nashville and opened fire, killing three adults, including the school custodian, a substitute teacher, the school principal, and three 9-year-old students.

Authorities mentioned that Audrey had three weapons on them when they attacked the Nashville school.

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Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale’s mother requested privacy to deal with the actions of her daughter

After the tragic incident at the Nashville private school, suspected shooter Audrey Hale’s mum Norma sought privacy to cope with the intensity of the actions of her 28-year-old daughter.

Upon investigation, law enforcement officials discovered a detailed manifesto and a plan to carry out similar attacks at other venues. They also described Audrey as a “lone zealot.” Authorities are yet to reveal the detailed contents of the manifesto or the motive.

A neighbor described Audrey Hale’s parents Norma and her husband, as being “very nice” and “very religious.” A neighbor named Sandy Durham said that she saw no signs that Audrey could ever commit such a heinous crime.

“I’ve known her since she was a baby. She was very sweet. I don’t know what happened. It’s very scary. It’s just tragic for everybody. The sweet children that were hurt, killed, the adults. All of it.”

Norma Hale is a gun control activist, (Image via @immaccleen/Twitter)

Another neighbor named Sean described Audrey as being a “normal, nice person.” He also mentioned that she was a little quiet. He continued by saying:

"Audrey’s parents are probably just as shocked as everybody in the neighborhood is … It just doesn’t seem real. There’s nothing that would have led me to believe that she was capable of such a thing or that she or anybody in that family would have access to, much less ever used, a gun. They just don’t seem like the family that, like, is around guns.”

Audrey Hale was reportedly carrying a handgun and assault rifles as she entered the school premises and opened fire.

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Hale’s friends believed that she was a sweet and funny girl

Audrey’s former classmates mentioned that they didn’t “fit” the category of a shooter. They were described as being sweet and funny. The former classmates also mentioned that they initially thought that the authorities were mistaken when they revealed the identity of the shooter as Audrey Hale. A friend said:

“She really didn’t fit the school shooter archetype. I don’t know what would have happened to turn her into this person we see on the news… Really none would have seen this coming.”

Norma Hale requested for privacy after the tragic course of events, (Image via @JoeRutkowski6/Twitter)

School president and CEO Cyrus Vatandoost spoke to the news outlet and said,

“She was a talented artist and a good student. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, to the victims and their families, and to our city.”

Within 14 minutes of the entire incident, cops shot down Audrey Hale. Authorities later revealed the identities of the two cops who took down the shooter. They have been identified as Michael Collazo and Rex Engelbart.

A spokesperson for the Covenant School addressed the tragic shooting and released a statement, saying:

“Our community is heartbroken. We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our school and church. We are focused on loving our students, our families, our faculty and staff, and beginning the process of healing.”

A close source revealed that Audrey was autistic, (Image via @rosanthony3/Twitter)

Norma Hale, Audrey’s mother, was unwilling to talk to media outlets and said that the family is going through a tough patch. A close source of the family further revealed that Hale was autistic but was high-functioning and “relatively recently announced that she was transgender, identifying as he/him.”