EXCLUSIVE: Evil Tennessee Covenant School Sicko Wrote in Manifesto How 'Killing Kids' Would be 'More Horrific' Than 'Less Remembered' Black Students
Audrey Hale narrowed her choices down to two targets before her deadly rampage.
Dec. 31 2025, Published 1:30 p.m. ET
The Nashville Covenant School killer had a different target in mind as the "first choice" for her deadly rampage, RadarOnline.com can report.
Audrey Hale's murder manifesto includes a list of "pros and cons" for her two desired locations, before ultimately deciding on the private religious school where she shot three children and three adults.
An Attack Years in the Making
Audrey Hale wrote a list of 'advantages/disadvantages' for each.
Hale apparently had been planning her heinous attack for years, and detailed her twisted process in a massive 230-page journal.
Among the entries is a page that lists the Covenant School as her "second choice." Her "first choice" was the nearby Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School of the Arts.
The 28-year-old had histories at both institutions, having attended the Covenant School from kindergarten through fourth grade, and Creswell during her junior high years, from fifth through eighth grade.
On consecutive pages within her manifesto, Hale brainstormed her "advantages" and "disadvantages" of attacking each, noting that Creswell was the "more recognized" school.
She also wrote that the smaller school would have been "easier to navigate," and she had a "well-known knowledge of school area (and) exit/entry levels."
Audrey Hale's Conflicting Choices
She had attended both of the possible targets.
However, the middle school was a predominantly black school attended by people she "loved" and was concerned the black community would hate her.
"Black community in despair (and) suffering," she wrote. "I don't want to cause that; Don't want to harm them." She also feared influencing "rasist (sic) white shooters in the future."
The Covenant House was a predominantly white school filled with "white people I hate." It was also a Christian school, and Hale wrote that she "hates religion" as well.
The school was also connected to a church, which she reasoned would have a larger effect on the organization's "revenue" and "real estate."
Audrey Hale's Massacre Unfolds
Hale settled on The Covenant School.
Although, according to her sick rationale, The Covenant School was "less known" and "the tragic day will be less remembered to the black community."
She also pointed out that the elementary school would mean "killing kids (not teenagers)" and added "killing kids = more horrific."
But for whatever reason, Hale settled on The Covenant School, which she entered shortly after 10 a.m. on March 27, 2023, armed with three loaded firearms, and immediately opened fire, gunning down six people in less than 15 minutes, before cops were able to shoot and kill her.
It is the deadliest school shooting in Tennessee history.
Audrey Hale's Search for 'Fame'
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Hale was ultimately killed by responding police.
After a lengthy investigation, Nashville police earlier this year concluded Hale first formulated her slaughter simply for fame.
"Hale longed for her name and actions to be remembered long after she was dead," the report said. "Even though numerous disappointments in relationships, career aspirations, and independence fueled her depression, and even though this depression made her highly suicidal."
Nashville police said Hale's personal writings and videos indicated the troubled person "expected there would be books and documentaries dedicated" to her.
A previous psychological assessment found Hale suffered from "major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobias, anger-management issues, and was underdeveloped both emotionally and socially."
She put her horrific plan in place as early as the summer of 2018, according to the official report.
"After writing an expletive rant directed towards her 'best friend' for choosing a relationship with a man over her, Hale decided it was time to make others notice her for a change," the report said. "She felt by 'killing a bunch of children' she would no longer be ignored."
