New details continue to pour in following yesterday’s (March 27) deadly mass shooting at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee. Today (March 28), authorities released bodycam footage showing the tense standoff between the shooter and police, and while it was indeed a team effort, two officers are being called heroes.
Dave Katz, a former DEA special agent and CEO of Global Security, who led the Nashville Police Department’s ballistic shield program in the 1990s, spoke with Fox News about yesterday’s heartbreaking events. Katz referred to the two officers credited with stopping the suspect as “heroes indeed.” Twenty-eight-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale was identified as the attacker who entered the Covenant School campus armed with two assault-style rifles and a pistol. Hale was originally mistaken as a teenager, then later identified as a transgender woman and former student of the institution.
Graphic footage included in tweets.
MNPD Officers Rex Engelbert, a 4-year veteran, and Michael Collazo, a 9-year veteran, were part of a team of first responders to the Covenant campus Mon morning. They fired on the active shooter, who was killed. This is their body camera footage. https://t.co/17qsZM6bNp pic.twitter.com/g4b0nMTFRD
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 28, 2023
In the bodycam footage, Nashville Officer Rex Englebert was briefed by a woman before he entered the building. “The kids are all locked down, but we have two kids that we don’t know where they are,” she informed him as he grabbed his rifle. “OK. Yes, ma’am,” he said before bravely heading toward danger. Englebert led a team inside of the school where they followed the sound of gunfire to Hale. Less than 30 seconds later, the threat was eliminated.
Michael Collazo rushed in and demanded Hale drop the weapon and freeze, while Englebert is said to have fired the fatal shot. “That’s exactly what has to be done. Heedless of officer safety, you enter and dispatch the shooter,” Katz added. The six victims were identified as Hallie Scruggs (the pastor’s daughter), Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney — all 9 years old — and 60-year-old Head of School Katherine Koonce, Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, 61. Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake noted that Hale had “a manifesto” and a map detailing how the attack would pan out.
See related posts below. Graphic footage included in tweets.
The body-cam footage released by Nashville PD exemplifies clear heroism.
Zero hesitation from the officers who ran toward the gunshots and ceased the threat. God bless these heroes.This video should be a mandatory watch for other PD counties.pic.twitter.com/OzrdVpcnYM
— Angelina Támez (@AngelinaTamezTX) March 28, 2023
OUTSTANDING response from Nashville PD.
This is the model for how it’s done.
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) March 28, 2023
Nashville PD officers: thank you for running towards the gunfire and stepping up to stop the threat.
— JGreene (@greenetoo) March 28, 2023
Those cops didn't waste any time. They ran in there with whatever protection they could find quickly and went for it. The urgency and determination was obvious. Courageous heroes, Nashville PD.
— ExtremeUnicornRider (@SaltyMonkey13) March 28, 2023