Teen fatally shoots a feminine pupil and himself at Antioch Excessive College in Nashville, police say

College students and household stroll from the Antioch Excessive College after a taking pictures in Nashville, Tenn. on January 22, 2025.
| Photograph Credit score: AP

A feminine pupil was killed and one other pupil was wounded on Wednesday (January 22, 2025) in taking pictures in a Nashville highschool cafeteria, police stated.

The 17-year-old shooter, who was additionally a pupil at Antioch Excessive College, later shot and killed himself with a handgun, Metro Nashville Police spokesperson Don Aaron stated throughout a information convention.

Police Chief John Drake stated the shooter “confronted” a 16-year-old feminine pupil within the cafeteria and opened hearth, killing her. Mr. Drake stated police are wanting right into a motive and whether or not the scholars who had been shot had been focused.

The male pupil who was wounded suffered a graze, and was handled and launched from the hospital, he stated. One other pupil was taken to a hospital for remedy of a facial damage that occurred throughout a fall, Mr. Aaron stated.

There have been two faculty useful resource officers within the constructing when the taking pictures occurred round 11 a.m. CDT, Mr. Aaron stated. They weren’t within the fast neighborhood of the cafeteria, and by the point they received down there, the taking pictures was over and the gunman had killed himself, Mr. Aaron stated.

The varsity has about 2,000 college students and is situated in Antioch, a neighborhood about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of downtown Nashville.

At a household security middle near a hospital, officers had been serving to shocked mother and father to reunite with their youngsters.

Dajuan Bernard was ready at a Mapco service station to reunite together with his son, a tenth grader, who was being held within the auditorium with different college students on Wednesday afternoon. He first heard of the taking pictures from his son who “was somewhat startled,” Mr. Bernard stated. His son was upstairs from the place it passed off however stated he heard the gunfire.

“He was OK and let me know that all the things was OK,” Mr. Bernard stated.

“His mother desires to homeschool anyway, so I don’t know. We’d think about it,” he stated. “This world is so loopy, it might occur wherever. We’ve simply received to guard the youngsters, and lift the youngsters proper to forestall them from even doing this. That’s the toughest half.”

Fonda Abner, whose granddaughter is a pupil on the faculty, stated Antioch Excessive doesn’t have steel detectors that may alert officers to the presence of a gun. Ms. Abner was ready to reunite together with her as college students had been bussed from the college to the household security middle.

“It’s nerve-wracking ready out right here,” she stated. Her granddaughter had known as her a few occasions however she solely heard commotion and thought it was a pocket dial. They spoke briefly earlier than being lower off.

“I’m 60 years outdated, and I can keep in mind while you had a dispute, fought it out, you had been mates subsequent week — two weeks later,” Ms. Abner stated. “These days, these youngsters are simply wanting to finish any person’s life. That is simply ridiculous the way in which youngsters are dealing with conditions now.”

Wednesday’s faculty taking pictures comes practically two years after a shooter opened hearth at a separate Nashville personal elementary faculty and killed six folks, together with three youngsters.

The tragedy prompted a monthslong effort amongst lots of of neighborhood organizers, households, protesters and lots of extra pleading with lawmakers to think about passing gun management measures in response to the taking pictures.

Nevertheless, in a Republican-dominant state, GOP lawmakers refused to take action. With the Republican supermajority intact after November’s election, it’s unlikely attitudes have modified sufficient to think about any significant payments that may handle gun management.

As a substitute, lawmakers have been extra open to including extra safety to varsities — together with passing a invoice final yr that may permit some academics and employees to hold hid handguns on public faculty grounds, and bar mother and father and different academics from realizing who was armed.

Antioch has endured different outstanding shootings in recent times. A 2017 deadly taking pictures at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ killed one lady and wounded seven folks. And in 2018, a shooter killed 4 folks at a Waffle Home.