Here's what we know about the Nashville school shooting
A 28-year-old woman shot and killed three children and three adult staff members at a school in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday before being killed by police.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the shooting, which marks the 17th school shooting in the United States since the start of the year, according to a Washington Post analysis.
The shooting occurred at the Covenant School, a private Christian school with grade levels from Pre-K to Grade 6, totaling about 200 students, according to its website.
WKRN in Nashville reported that agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives were responding to the incident.
Here's what we know about the Nashville school shooting.
The suspect may have attended the school at some point
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said at a press conference Monday that the woman who opened fire at the Covenant School may have been a student there at some point.
"From my initial findings, at one point, she was a student at that school," Drake said Monday.
He added that he was unsure what year she may have attended, but said that she was a Nashville resident. He said that a car near the scene gave law enforcement "clues" into who she was.
The woman — whose name has yet to be released — entered the school through a side entrance, police said. Law enforcement officials said that they responded to a call about the shooting at 10:13 a.m. on Monday and cleared the first floor of the school. Officers then heard gunshots on the second floor, where they engaged with the shooter, who was then shot and killed by police.
Officials said the suspect was dead by 10:27 a.m.
The three children killed were all 9 years old
The Metro Nashville Police Department released the names and ages of the victims Monday evening.
The three children who died from gunshot injuries were Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, and were all nine years old. The adult staff members killed in the shooting were Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61.
Drake said at Monday's press conference that the three child victims were identified and that their parents have been notified.
"Right now I will refrain from saying the ages, other than to say, I was literally moved to tears to see this and the kids as they were being ushered out of the building," he said.
Officials said that a reunification area was established at a nearby church after the shooting.
What US officials are saying
President Biden said on Monday that the shooting was "sick" and noted that it was “a family’s worst nightmare," while reiterating his calls for gun reform and an assault weapons ban.
"We have to do more to stop gun violence. It’s ripping our communities apart. It’s ripping at the very soul of the nation. We have to do more to protect our schools so they aren’t turned into prisons,” Biden said in remarks at a women’s business summit.
Biden said that it's time for more "progress" to be made and called on Congress to pass an assault weapons ban. The suspect was reportedly carrying assault-style weapons and a handgun.
Both of Tennessee's Republican senators, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, tweeted that they were "heartbroken" about the shooting, and said they were in touch with local and federal officials to offer assistance.
"I'm grateful to law enforcement and first responders for their heroic actions," Hagerty said in a tweet.
"Please join us in prayer for those affected," said Blackburn.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blasted Republicans in Congress, asking how much longer will it take for GOP lawmakers to "step up" to pass gun reform.
"How many more children have to be murdered before Republicans in Congress step up and act to pass the assault weapons ban, to close loopholes in our background checks, or to require the safe storage of guns?” Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing.