A tragic shooting unfolded Wednesday at Antioch High School in Nashville, leaving one female student dead, another injured, and the 17-year-old shooter taking his own life.
The incident occurred in the school cafeteria, according to Metro Nashville Police spokesperson Don Aaron. Authorities say the shooter, also a student at the school, used a handgun during the attack. A second student sustained a graze wound, while another was treated for an eye injury that occurred after the shooting
The 2,000-student school, located about 10 miles southeast of downtown Nashville, was immediately locked down following the shooting. Two school resource officers were present in the building at the time but were not near the cafeteria when the violence occurred. By the time they arrived, the shooter had already turned the gun on himself.
Parents were asked not to rush to the school but instead to head to a nearby hospital, which was being used as a reunification center. Students were bused to the location in waves, where police helped facilitate reunions with their families.
At the reunification site, visibly shaken parents, including Dajuan Bernard, anxiously waited to embrace their children. Bernard’s 10th-grade son was in the auditorium during the shooting and called his father to let him know he was safe.
“He was a little startled, but he said everything was OK,” Bernard said. Despite his relief, Bernard shared his concerns about the increasing prevalence of school shootings. “This world is so crazy, it could happen anywhere. We’ve just got to protect the kids and raise them right to prevent things like this from happening.”
The shooting comes as Nashville continues to grapple with the trauma of another tragic event earlier in 2023, when a shooter killed three 9-year-old children and three staff members at The Covenant School, a private Christian elementary school in the city.
At this time, police have not disclosed a motive for Wednesday’s shooting, and the FBI has not been asked to assist in the investigation.
