Nashville Police Halt Release Of Covenant Shooter’s Manifesto Due To ‘Pending Litigation’

The Metro Nashville Police Department is temporarily suspending the release of the journals and writing of the Covenant School shooter due to “pending litigation,” a department spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The department had previously been hesitant to release the manifesto, which indicated that 28-year-old transgender shooter Audrey Hale had been planning over a period of months to commit mass murder and had been studying other killers, but a city official said that that releasing the documents would be considered once the FBI finished its analysis. MNPD later indicated that it was reviewing the journals and writings for release, but on Wednesday announced that “pending litigation” had changed those plans.

“Covenant investigation update: 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 statement read on the MNPD Twitter account.

Hale killed six people, including three children, at the Christian school on March 27.

Covenant investigation update: 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.

— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) May 3, 2023

The MNPD directed the DNCF to reach out to the Law Department for Nashville for further information on the lawsuit. The Law Department did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Hale opened fire at Covenant School on March 27, killing three adults and three children and left a series of documents and writings detailing plans for the attack. Calls for the release of the manifesto have been building for weeks as local officials questioned the reasoning behind keeping the manifesto from the public.

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