FBI director opens up files on Nashville school shooting to lawmaker for first time
A Tennessee congressman viewed documents relating to the 2023 Covenant school shooting for the first time, praising the Director Kash Patel-led FBI for upholding the Trump administration’s "radical transparency" promise.
Rep. John Rose told Fox News Digital he was offered full access to the documents, including the writings of suspect Audrey Hale, a transgender woman who was a former student and killed three children and three adults on March 27 of that year.
The GOP lawmaker said he sent a letter to the FBI the month after the shooting and received a response in November telling him to effectively seek what he was looking for from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
He contrasted that with Patel's FBI's quick turnaround in accessing the documents.
"They are primarily comprised of the writings and work of the perpetrator of the Covenant School shooting. But they do provide a great deal of insight and I think confirm some of the suspicions that I've had all along," Rose said.
"We really never received a response [regarding a document inquiry] from the Metro National Police Department (MNPD) one way or the other… We got a letter that was really non-responsive and basically indicated they would not release the information to us. So it's remarkable that in just a little over 40 days that new FBI Director Kash Patel has made this information available for us to look at."
Many of the documents have been under seal and are the subject of legal battles in the Volunteer State.
Nashville Chancery Court Chancellor I’ashea Myles ruled in 2024 that much of Hale’s writings are protected by copyright law, which trumps the state’s records statute.
An official with the MNPD told Fox News Digital there was also concern in the courts and among law enforcement that the detailed writings could inspire copycat violence.
"This investigation was meticulous and ran through this year and at the conclusion of the investigation we issued the 48-page summary," the official told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
"There exists to this day the Chancery Court, an order that restricts the shooter's writing from being publicly released [but] through the 48-page summary, we've wanted all to know what our findings were in this mass shooting case; in the days after our officers responded so bravely into the building to stop the threat," the official added.
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The MNPD said they were aware the FBI was contemplating releasing some of the material and echoed copycat-related concerns – and that the bureau understood those reservations and redacted parts of what has been witnessed by Rose.
However, Rose said that after Patel allowed him to view the documents, he is "more assured than ever" that the information within should be made public so that people can better understand the tragedy.
He disputed claims that the MNPD has been entirely forthright, saying, "I think they’ve just stonewalled… and frankly I think that makes it impossible for policymakers, legislators to take any action with respect to the incidents around this heinous act that happened back in March of 2023," he said.
"We simply can't be expected to take action when we don't understand the nature of this crime. And so the public is entitled to that information, but as policymakers, I feel like we simply cannot be expected to make a policy based on innuendo and supposition when the information is available."
Read the Nashville police report here.
"And had this been any other significant crime of this nature, including a mass shooting, we know from historic precedent that virtually all of this information would have been released in the normal course for public inspection and consideration."
As for sensitivity, he said that there is "tough information" in what he has seen and that he has sympathy for the victims of the shooting, but that in order to protect society, the information currently being held should be accessible to better understand the perpetrator and more.
MNPD denied any stonewalling allegation and cited the Chancery Court order in its response.
Rose did, however, appear to support some of the redactions, suggesting that a careful review process could allow documents from and about the shooter to be used in understanding the "heinous crime," identifying others who may be responsible and examining how society may have missed chances to prevent it.
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Nashville police also released their final report on the shooting, first reported at the time by Fox News Digital.
Rather than a highly anticipated manifesto, the report found that Hale left behind numerous notebooks, art books and computer documents about plans to commit the attack and gain notoriety, partly inspired by the Columbine school shooting in 1999.
Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.