TV anchors break down live on air reporting on Nashville mass shooting

Two TV anchors were visibly emotional as they reported on the tragic mass shooting at a school in Nashville, Tennessee.

Two TV anchors have broken down in tears while reporting on the horror mass shooting at a school in Nashville, Tennessee.

Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old transgender man shot and killed six people at a Christian school in Tennessee at 10.15am on Monday (local time).

Hale, who once attended the school, was shot dead by police on site at 10.27am after a 14-minute rampage.

Holly Thompson became distraught as she reported on the shooting. Picture: WSMV

Reporting on the tragedy on the local news station WSMV, Holly Thompson became distraught on air and was struggling to speak as the news came through that children were among the victims.

“Thee children have died, they were killed in this situation. Again, it was an active shooter situation where the gunman was engaged by metro police.

“That shooter is confirmed dead. But now, we have just learned three children are confirmed dead,” she said as she was overcome with emotion.

“My heart is just hurting right now,” she said as she raised her arm towards the camera.

“Thoughts and prayers for these families,” she said as her co-anchor Amanda Hara reached out to comfort her.

Amanda Hara struggled to hold back tears. Picture: WSMV

Ms Hara took over the broadcast before sending it over to WSMV journalist Michael Warrick.

Ms Thompson later returned to provide emotional support to Ms Hara, who was struggling to hold back tears as she talked about how the families of the students were not able to get real-time information about the incident.

“There are just so many questions and people wanting to know what was actually happening,” she said, as her voice strained.

“There really are no words,” Ms Hara said as Ms Thomson reached out to her arm.

Killer’s manifesto

Hale left behind a manifesto, had maps of the school detailing surveillance and entry-exit points, and was “prepared for a confrontation with law enforcement,” the police chief told reporters following the latest outburst of gun violence to stun the United States.

In an interview with NBC News, Chief of Police John Drake said the suspect was likely plotting a broader attack, as the manifesto “indicates that there was going to be shootings at multiple locations, and the school was one of them.”

Audrey Hale's LinkedIn account uses he/him pronouns. Picture: LinkedIn

Police said Hale entered the Covenant building after shooting out the glass of these doors. Picture: Metro Nashville Police Department

Armed with at least two assault rifles and a handgun, Hale entered The Covenant School, a Christian academy, from a side entrance, allegedly shooting through a door — firing multiple shots while advancing through the building, according to police.

Police identified the six victims, saying one of the three children was eight years old and two were age nine, while the adults killed were age 60 to 61.

One of the victims, Katherine Koonce, is listed as head of the school on the academy’s website.

There was confusion surrounding the suspect’s gender identity, with officials using “she” and “her” to refer to them, while a LinkedIn profile appeared to identify Hale as a man.

Police spokeswoman Kristin Mumford said the shooter was born female but listed male pronouns in LinkedIn, which suggested that the shooter was a transgender man, the New York Times reports.

Police said officers were on the scene within about 15 minutes of receiving the first emergency call around 10am (local time), engaging the shooter, who returned fire before being shot dead.

Nine-year-old Hallie Scruggs (with father Chad, the pastor at the presbyterian church linked to the school) was identified as one of the victims of the shooting. Picture: Facebook

‘Sick’ mass shooting

Television images showed children holding hands as they left the school, and one searing photograph showed a child sobbing through the window of her yellow school bus as it pulled away from the crime scene.

Avery Myrick said her mother, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Covenant, hid as shots rang out through the school.

“She said she was hiding in the closet, and that there was shooting all over and that they had potentially tried to get into her room, and just that she loved us,” Myrick told WSMV4 television, an NBC local affiliate.

Police say Hale was armed with three guns and significant ammunition. Picture: Metro Nashville Police Department

When she heard her mother was safe it brought “a ton of relief.” “But you know, you’re still hurting for the people out there who might not get that call,” she said.

School shootings are alarmingly common in the United States, where the proliferation of firearms has soared in recent years.

President Joe Biden described the latest shooting as “sick” and said gun violence was tearing the nation’s “soul,” as he urged Congress to pass a ban on the assault weapons often used in mass shootings.

“It’s ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation,” he said. A Nashville fire department spokesman, Kendra Loney, said all unharmed students were escorted out of the building with faculty and staff.

- with AFP