The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department will not release records and documents relating to the Nashville school shooter due to "pending litigation."
Audrey Hale, 28, who identified as transgender, entered the Covenant School on March 27 with two assault-style weapons and a handgun, fatally shooting three students and three adult staff members. Since the shooting, politicians and the public have called for the release of the documents, including a manifesto, that investigators discovered in Hale's possession.
NASHVILLE SHOOTING: SHOOTER PLANNED MURDERS FOR 'A PERIOD OF MONTHS'
At the scene, police recovered the manifesto as well as detailed maps that explicitly stated Hale's plan to attack the Covenant School. Police confirmed that attacks at other locations were also detailed. At the shooter's home and in a vehicle, investigators found collective writings that showed Hale had planned the attack on the school for months.
However, Nashville's police department will be waiting to release Hale's personal documents following a lawsuit from the Tennessee Firearms Association.
"Due to pending litigation filed this week, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department has been advised by counsel to hold in abeyance the release of records related to the shooting at The Covenant School pending orders or direction of the court," the department tweeted in a statement on Wednesday.
The lawsuit, filed in chancery court on April 28 by Clata Renee Brewer, states that the Metropolitan Government of Nashville has "failed and refused to produce these public records promptly," in accordance with the state Public Records Act.
In conjunction with the National Police Association, Brewer requested the records on April 21, and she claims that they have not yet responded to her request. The lawsuit alleges a similar request from Tonda Johnson, another citizen, was denied on April 12.
The lawsuit claims that the Nashville government declined to provide the records because the incident is an "open case." Law enforcement or prosecutors typically wait to either identify people or provide additional details until charges are announced, but it varies on a case-by-case basis.
However, Brewer said this is not a valid reason to deny public access to the records. She cites a 1986 court case, Memphis Publishing Company v. Holt, in which the same statute used by the government was not applicable because "the perpetrators in the unlawful activity had been killed in the police shoot out."
"Defendant has not identified anyone who might be subjected to any prosecution because of the Covenant School incident or any class of persons who might be subject to criminal prosecution because of the incident," the lawsuit states. "Since the Covenant School incident, law enforcement officials have made numerous comments to both local and national media concerning some or all of the records Plaintiff has requested, and these comments are inconsistent with there being any criminal prosecution related to the incident."
After the shooting, police released a list of 47 items it found that belonged to Hale, including several journals, a shotgun, cellphones, and laptops, as well as a suicide note. The details of the note are unknown.
Officials said Hale had seven legally purchased weapons from five local stores and later sold one of them. Three of the weapons were used in the mass shooting. Police have not publicly announced a possible motive for Hale, but Police Chief John Drake said previously that the shooter may have had a sense of "resentment" toward the school.
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The six victims were students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age 9, and substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, Head of School Katherine Koonce, 60, and custodian Mike Hill, 61.
The attack on the Covenant School marked 17 school shootings in the United States in 2023 and 376 school shootings since the Columbine High School shooting in April 1999.