Who was Sydney Shere Sims? Nashville shooter Audrey Hale reportedly spiralled after the death of close friend

Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale’s former classmate Samira Hardcastle told NBC News that the slain shooter reportedly spiraled after the death of a close friend named Sydney Shere Sims. The latter passed away just a few months before Hale killed six individuals in the Covenant School shooting.

Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of gun violence and mass shooting. Readers discretion is advised.

Hale and Sims attended Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School of the Arts and the Nashville School of the Arts together. Hardcastle, a classmate of both students in middle and high school, told the outlet that the former was devastated by Sims’ death and struggled to cope with the reality.

The classmate mentioned that “Audrey definitely admired Sydney” and was heartbroken over the latter’s demise:

“After Sydney’s tragic death, Audrey was really heartbroken over it … I just feel like she took it differently than some of us did. She was still posting about Sydney almost daily. What I knew of her was more admiring (Sydney). Maybe even infatuation. That’s specifically who she really, really looked up to.”

Audrey Hale reportedly posted a TikTok video dedicated to Sims in February on a now-deleted account. The clip showed the silhouette of a person quietly bouncing a basketball and came with a caption that read:

“For Syd. I look up the sky is bright. It’s a beautiful day. I wish you were here …”

Hardcastle even spoke about Hale’s former basketball teammate, Averianna Patton, who the shooter messaged just moments before their rampage. She said Hale possibly looked up to Patton in a similar way to that of Sims:

“I don’t think she was with anyone. She was just kind of by herself. I don’t think that they were very close but I think Audrey looked up to [her] like she looked up to Sydney. But I don’t know that it was ever, like, a two-way thing.”

Maria Colomy, one of Hale’s former instructors at the Nossi College of Art & Design, told NBC that Sims' death took an emotional toll on the Nashville shooter. Speaking about Hale’s social media posts, Colomy said:

“A lot of comments about ‘you were all that mattered’ [and] 'I’ll miss you forever,’ etc.”

The instructor also told CNN that Hale only posted about Sims after the latter’s death:

“The only thing I would see [Hale] post would be about this girl”

Colomy also told The New York Times that Audrey Hale’s transition journey also began around the time they were grieving the loss of a close friend. The instructor said Hale often wrote about how much they missed the person and even posted photos of the pair playing basketball together:

“She had been openly grieving about that on social media, and during the grieving is when she announced that she wanted to be addressed as a male.”

Following Hale’s encounter, police mentioned that the former was born female but identified as transgender and went by he/him pronouns. No specific details about the shooter’s preferred pronouns or official names were provided.

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What is known about Sydney Shere Sims?

Sydney Shere Sims was a Tuskegee University student who reportedly passed away in a fatal accident last year. She reportedly attended university on a basketball scholarship before beginning her career as a medical assistant and behavioral therapist.

On the day of her accident, Sims was driving a Nissan Duke when she was hit in the head after a crash with a Hyundai Elantra in North Nashville. The 27-year-old was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to her injuries. A 20-year-old passenger from the Hyundai also passed away in the incident.

No other details about Sydney Shere Sims’ personal or professional life prior to her demise have been made available to the public at the time of writing.

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Sydney Shere Sims’ sister slams former’s connection to Audrey Hale

Sydney Shere Sims’ sister slammed claims of connection between former's death and Audrey Hale's behavior (Image via Metro Nashville PD)

As statements about Audrey Hale’s admiration over late friend Sydney Shere Sims came to light, the latter’s twin sister took to Instagram to call out any connection between her sister’s death and the Nashville school shooting incident. She wrote:

“A lot of you are saying, posting, asking if Audrey Hale did this due to the death/grief of my sister… the answer is NO! Truth is none of us know why she did that. Nothing about what she [Hale] has done is ok, we’ve not had any contact with that girl for years due to other things.”

It is likely that Audrey Hale was addressed using female pronouns as they identified as a woman during their association with Sydney Sims. The latter’s sister continued:

“We all played middle school basketball together. That’s it and that is all. Granted everyone was welcomed to my sister’s funeral and that’s when we saw her for the first time in a while. She then popped up uninvited to my sister’s painting that my mom held a few weeks ago (odd) and still don’t know how she found out.”

Taylor Sims also asked others to refrain from connecting her sister’s demise to Audrey Hale’s evil actions:

“So with all due respect don’t attach my family, especially my sister, to this mess. Please don’t attach such a nasty, disgusting tragedy to my sister’s name. This is very sick and just goes to show people talk. Please leave my sister out of it.”

Reports suggest Hale sent Sims’ family a floral tribute and attended their late friend’s funeral. They also attended the unveiling of a painting dedicated to Sims that was organized a few weeks ago.

Some former friends told The Daily Mail that while Audrey Hale may have been infatuated with Sydney Sims in the past, there was never any implication of the feelings being reciprocated.