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Nashville shooter Audrey Hale was ‘infatuated’ with late friend, Sydney Sims

Nashville school mass shooter Audrey Hale was ‘deeply affected’ by the death of a woman who may have been a romantic interest.

Nashville shooter Audrey Hale was ‘heartbroken’ over death of friend she may have been ‘infatuated’ with
Nashville shooter Audrey Hale was ‘heartbroken’ over death of friend she may have been ‘infatuated’ with

Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale was “heartbroken” over the 2022 death of a woman she was “infatuated” with, who had played on the same basketball team in school.

Samira Hardcastle told The New York Post “tomboyish” Hale had been deeply affected by the death of Sydney Sims, who was killed in a vehicle accident in August 2022, according to an obituary.

Sydney’s grieving twin sister Taylor Sims, 28, has since lashed out at “disgusting” connections between the tragedy and Hale’s shooting spree, the Daily Mail reported.

“Please don’t attach such a nasty, disgusting tragedy to my sister’s name,” Taylor wrote. “This is very sick and just goes to show people talk. Please leave my sister out of it.”

Sydney Sims died in a car accident last year, aged 27.
Sydney Sims died in a car accident last year, aged 27.

Hardcastle, a classmate of both students in middle and high school, had said, “After Sydney’s tragic death, Audrey was really heartbroken over it … I just feel like she took it differently than some of us did. She was still posting about Sydney almost daily.

“What I knew of her was more admiring (Sydney). Maybe even infatuation. That’s specifically who she really, really looked up to.”

Hale, who police said was transgender and had started to identify using he/him pronouns this year, posted a TikTok in February on a since-deleted account, “iam_aiden10,” dedicated to “Syd”.

The clip showed a shadow of a person bouncing a basketball and the words: “For Syd. I look up the sky is bright. It’s a beautiful day. I wish you were here …”

Hardcastle said she had last seen Hale — who shot his way into her former elementary school on Monday and killed three nine-year-olds and three staff — a month ago when they had both attended a taping of their friend Avieranna Patton’s radio show.

“I don’t think she was with anyone. She was just kind of by herself,” Hardcastle said, adding, “I don’t think that they were very close but I think Audrey looked up to [her] like she looked up to Sydney. But I don’t know that it was ever, like, a two-way thing.”

Audrey Hale was killed by police on Monday.
Audrey Hale was killed by police on Monday.
A former classmate said Hale had been ‘infatuated’ with Sims.
A former classmate said Hale had been ‘infatuated’ with Sims.

Patton was the last person Hale contacted in the minutes before the shooting spree, sending her a message saying: “This is my last goodbye. I love you … See you again in another life.”

Hale also described Patton as “the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen and known all my life,” adding, “My family doesn’t know what I’m about to do. One day this will make more sense. I’ve left more than enough evidence behind. But something bad is about to happen.”

Hardcastle said Hale was a “tomboy” back in school but did not appear to transition until adulthood.

Audrey Hale listed male pronouns in LinkedIn, going by the name Aiden Hale in the last few months.
Audrey Hale listed male pronouns in LinkedIn, going by the name Aiden Hale in the last few months.

She also said she didn’t know of Hale to have had any romantic relationship with Sims.

Maria Colomy, a former instructor at the Nossi College of Art & Design in Nashville, who taught Hale as an adult, said his transition began around the same time as he was grieving the loss of a romantic partner, the New York Times reported.

Hale had written about how he missed the person, and frequently posted pictures of the pair playing basketball, according to the teacher.

“The only thing I would see [Hale] post would be about this girl,” she told CNN.

“She had been openly grieving about that on social media, and during the grieving is when she announced that she wanted to be addressed as a male,” Colomy added to the New York Times.

Nashville Metro Police say they are still searching for a motive for why Hale chose to shoot up the private Christian elementary Covenant School he once attended, but recovered a manifesto written before he embarked on the spree.

Nashville Police Chief John Drake said they are looking into whether Hale’s identity played a role in the slaughter.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been reproduced here with permission

Read related topics:Sydney

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/nashville-shooter-audrey-hale-was-infatuated-with-late-friend-sydney-sims/news-story/5d6bc72292c54b78066e4b40b25040d8