A Tennessee judge on July 4 refused to release documents from the Covenant School shooter, saying releasing them could pose a safety risk to the Nashville private school.
The ruling comes in response to Brewer et al. v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville et al., in which several parties, including the National Police Association and the Tennessee Firearms Association, sued the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) seeking disclosure of records related to the school shooting on November 27, 2023, which left six people dead: Mike Hill (61), Cynthia Peake (61), Katherine Koonce (60), and nine-year-olds Harry Scruggs, Evelyn Diekhaus, and William Kinney.
“School shootings and violence are unfortunately a common occurrence in our society. Access to immediate information is also a social expectation that we all share,” Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Iasia Miles wrote in a 60-page order. “However, there are times when immediate access to information must be balanced and tempered with requirements for information in order to protect the integrity of our legal system, particularly our criminal justice system.”
She added that with the criminal investigation ongoing, “Tennessee courts have determined that unfettered access to any records at any time does not serve to preserve the justice system that we all rely on to ensure that our criminal justice system and investigations remain fair and equitable for all involved.”
Judge orders transgender school shooter Audrey Hale’s statement handed over to FBI
A memorial is set up outside Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, for the six victims killed in the mass shooting. Three adults and three children were killed inside the school. (KR/Mega, courtesy of Fox News Digital)
“In this case, the Tennessee Legislature has provided both exceptions to state law and statutes to prevent disclosure of materials in the defendants’ possession, not only to preserve the integrity of the criminal justice system and ongoing investigations, but also to prevent public access to school safety-related information obtained from any source,” Miles continued.
The fatal school shooter, former Covenant High School student Audrey Hale, who identified as a trans man named Aiden Hale, owned dozens of pages of writings and artwork that were initially in the possession of his parents, who then transferred ownership of Hale’s estate to the victim’s family members, who were included as interveners in the lawsuit.
Nashville officials ‘aware’ of leaked Christian school shooter manifesto
Covenant School shooter Audrey Hale entered the school building and opened the door to the church office. (Twitter @MNPDNashville)
MNPD officers shot and killed Hale on campus the morning of the shooting.
Nashville murderer Audrey Hale slept with school shooting diary under her bed, court documents reveal
After months of litigation by police, victims’ families and journalists seeking release of the shooter’s documents and other materials, Judge Miles ruled that any records held by the Minnesota State Police “may not be released at this time.”
Read the order
The judge wrote that “a court would be hard-pressed to find that original and edited writings … and artwork by individuals with the intent and plan to harm and inflict harm on innocent people in a school setting are not relevant to school safety and therefore exempt from disclosure.”
Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale: Who is the 28-year-old transgender former student who shot up at the school?
Minnesota State Police argued that although the shooter is dead, the shooting remains under investigation and future criminal charges may be filed. The police also said that “some of the requested records may be released without prejudice to an ongoing criminal investigation,” the judge noted.
A driver’s license photo and school surveillance video released by Nashville, Tennessee police show Covenant School shooter Audrey Hale, 28, who killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at the church-affiliated private school. (Metro Nashville Police Department)
Meanwhile, the victim’s family and Covenant Schools, listed as interveners in the lawsuit, have argued that “all materials and information possessed by Defendants in this case relate to school safety and should be completely exempt from disclosure because releasing any information would encourage copycat crimes and all information relates in some way to school safety,” Miles wrote.
Last November, authorities learned of allegedly leaked crime scene photos that included a handwritten note from the killer.
Audrey Hale’s police body camera footage released
In March, a federal judge granted the FBI a request for public records relating to a so-called “manifesto” that police found in Hale’s car after the shooting. The FBI had denied the request, arguing that doing so would “reasonably threaten to undermine enforcement proceedings.”
“The public has an urgent right to know why this tragedy happened, how future incidents can be prevented, and what policies should be put in place to address this and similar tragedies,” lawyers for the parent company of the Tennessee Star newspaper, which sued the FBI seeking access to Hale’s statement, wrote in the federal complaint.
Police officers walk through the entrance to Covenant School after a shooting, Monday, March 27, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. (AP Photo/John Amis)
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“[The] The FBI has no monopoly on this information,” they wrote.
Critics of the Tennessee and federal decisions to not release the documents believe Hale’s manifesto could shed light on the gunman’s motives for targeting schools and killing adults and children alike.
Fox News’ Michael Lewis contributed to this report.
