By Remy Tumin and Emily Cochrane
On Wednesday, a 17-year-old male with a handgun discharged rounds in a cafeteria at a high school in Nashville, Tennessee, resulting in the death of one female student and injuries to another, before he ended his own life, according to law enforcement.
Don Aaron, a representative of the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department, indicated that the injured student sustained a bullet graze to the arm at Antioch High School, situated approximately 20 miles southeast of Nashville’s downtown, and was receiving care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Another male student was treated for a facial wound, which was not attributed to a gunshot, as described by Aaron.
The assailant discharged multiple rounds in the cafeteria shortly after 11 a.m., with an emergency response being initiated two minutes following the initial shot, according to Aaron. He refrained from providing further information about the shooter or the victims involved. Authorities stated that the motive behind the shooting remains unclear.
One student, identifying himself only as Ahmad, recounted to Nashville TV station WSMV that he was present in the cafeteria when the shooting commenced. He and his peers sought refuge behind garbage bins before making their way to the football field, encountering injured and bleeding victims along the way.
“I wish I could save them,” he remarked. “I feel immense pain, grief, and depression knowing I am powerless to assist them, witnessing the shooting unfold before me.”
Metro Nashville Public Schools confirmed that the high school was placed on lockdown around noon local time. Officials established a reunion site for parents.
“I stand with Tennesseans in prayer for the victims, their families, and the school community,” stated Republican Governor Bill Lee, further noting on social media that he had received briefings regarding the incident.
Nashville is still reeling from the trauma of the 2023 Covenant School shooting, which marked the most deadly school shooting in Tennessee’s history. In that incident, a former student breached the private school’s premises, taking the lives of three 9-year-old students and three staff members before police fatally shot the shooter.
Despite thousands of demonstrators flooding the state Capitol, uniting with parents of surviving students in calls for stricter gun legislation, the Republican majority in the Tennessee General Assembly has resisted efforts to amend gun laws.
“Schools ought to be secure environments where children can learn and develop without the fear of violence,” asserted Voices for a Safer Tennessee, an organization formed in response to the Covenant School shooting, in a statement.
In 2024, despite objections from parents and numerous Democratic lawmakers in Nashville, legislation was passed permitting teachers to carry concealed firearms.
Support has grown for enhancing school resource officers: The Metro Council voted in December to approve a grant of $3.9 million, though staffing challenges hinder many schools from employing officers. Aaron, the police spokesperson, noted that two resource officers were present on campus but not close to the site of the shooting when it began. By the time they arrived, the incident had concluded.
Charlane Oliver, a state senator representing the Antioch High School district, expressed in a statement her heartbreak over the tragic shooting.
“As a parent and a representative of this community, I mourn alongside the families, students, and staff who are enduring this unthinkable tragedy,” she stated. “No child should ever feel unsafe in their school, nor should any family confront the sorrow of such an irrational loss.”
