As news continues to come in about the tragic shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School, a local anchor, Hannah McDonald, revealed that she covered an active shooter training event at the school 13 months ago.
“It is a strange situation to be in right now,” McDonald told her NewsChannel 5 Nashville co-anchor, Vicki Yates. “And I cannot believe that this school, I said a year ago, did this [active] [shooter] training. I was there. And here they are now, about 13 months later, putting this into practice.”
Yates later added, “I guess if there’s anything to be thankful for, it’s that they did have pre-training because it could’ve been so much worse, I’m sure.”
Earlier in the broadcast, Hannah had shared that she covered an active shooter training event at this very school just 13 months ago. pic.twitter.com/oaykbvoVbd
— Sam Sagnella ⚡️ (@SamSagnella) March 27, 2023
As previously reported, a female shooter entered the Christian elementary for preschool through sixth grade, reportedly through the side door, and fatally shot three kids and three adult staff members. First responders transported some of the victims to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where doctors pronounced them dead.
A pair of officers with the Metro Nashville Police Department, who entered the school building, went toward the sound of gunfire on the second floor and killed the armed woman. After authorities brought the female suspect down, the MNPD alerted the community about the incident and parents with a location to pick up their children.
An active shooter event has taken place at Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, on Burton Hills Dr. The shooter was engaged by MNPD and is dead. Student reunification with parents is at Woodmont Baptist Church, 2100 Woodmont Blvd. pic.twitter.com/vO8p9cj3vx
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 27, 2023
During a press briefing, law enforcement revealed that the shooter was a 28-year-old local woman. She entered the school carrying two “assault-type rifles” and a handgun. However, the police have not released her name. And as McDonald emotionally covered the shooting, she informed viewers that her mother-in-law is an employee at the Christian facility and was returning from her break when she heard the female suspect firing shots.
“I wanted to make sure it was okay with her before I talked about her experience,” McDonald said during a live broadcast. “My mother-in-law is the front desk angel… She was at the school this morning; however, Diana was able to come out of this safe. She actually stepped away to take a break. I mean, and that is why right now I’m just — I’m torn.”
Gut-wrenching coverage of the Covenant School shooting from NewsChannel 5 Nashville, as reporter Hannah McDonald shares that her mother-in-law works at the school’s front desk and was coming back from a break when she heard gunshots coming from inside the building. pic.twitter.com/ReXd6s4qbI
— Sam Sagnella ⚡️ (@SamSagnella) March 27, 2023