Law enforcement officials and parents urge court to halt release of documents
Top law enforcement officials with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), including the lead investigator in The Covenant School shooting case, have filed motions with the court to stop the release of the writings amid their “ongoing” investigation. In their court filings, law enforcement stated they believed the assailant Audrey Hale, who died on the scene, acted alone, but they “do not know for sure.”
“Even though the assailant died at the school, the criminal investigative file does not automatically, instantly close,” investigator Lt. Brent Gibson wrote in a court filing. “Investigators must still work to gather and analyze evidence in the case and determine if related crimes were committed, are being planned, or whether other people were involved.”
Gibson went on to say the Covenant investigation is expected to take approximately “12 months,” based upon the “volume of evidence and the number of persons to be interviewed,” along with officers working on a total of 46 homicide investigations in the city so far this year.
“For comparison purposes, an investigation for a murder-suicide case, where it appears ‘obvious’ what has happened, typically takes eight months,” Gibson added. “While we believe at this time that the assailant acted alone in this case, we do not know for sure. And we need to investigate the matter thoroughly, as we do in all homicides, to rule out any co-conspirators or additional crimes related to this matter.”
He said he believed the release of the investigative files prematurely could cause “harmful and irreversible consequences.”
MNPD Weighs In
The court filings came in a pending open records lawsuit, in which MNPD was forced to turn over unredacted versions of shooter Audrey Hale’s suicide note and journal last week for the judge’s review. The suit was filed after MNPD refused to release the documents to several individuals and groups.
A hearing and scheduling conference in the lawsuit was scheduled for Thursday, May 18, but Chancellor I’Ashea Myles, in a Wednesday evening ruling, postponed it to Monday, May 22.
On Wednesday, the officers, alongside several parents of Covenant students, filed their motions with the court, with parents urging the documents to not be released at all.
