The FBI released more than 100 pages of writings by Audrey Elizabeth Hale tied to the March 27, 2023 Covenant School shooting, including journals, planning notes and ledger-style financial entries. The documents list "Christian school (hate religion)" as a motive and include a line that "FAFSA grant checks started at $2,050.86," with payments linked to Nossi College of Art and Design. Hale, 28, killed six people before being shot by police; authorities recovered a manifesto and maps but have not released the full document.
FBI Records Show Shooter’s Writings Refer To Federal Student Aid As Possible Funding Source For Nashville School Attack
Nashville shooter Audrey Hale allegedly used federal student aid to buy guns for school attack
The FBI has released more than 100 pages of writings by Audrey Elizabeth Hale connected to the March 27, 2023, shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville. The newly disclosed documents include journal entries, handwritten notes about planning and target selection, and financial records that reference federal student aid.
What the Records Show
Covenant School shooter Audrey Hale, 28, pictured in a driver's license photo and on school surveillance video released by Nashville police. Hale killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at a private school linked to a church.
The materials—made public after litigation—contain journal entries believed to date to late 2021, notes outlining preparations for a school shooting, and references to firearms Hale intended to acquire. Several pages list a motive as "Christian school (hate religion)", identifying the Covenant School, which Hale once attended, as a target.
Financial Entries
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake identified the two officers who fatally shot suspected school shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale on March 27, 2023.
Among the documents is a handwritten page labeled "Account Savings Record" that references federal student financial aid. One line reads: "FAFSA grant checks started at $2,050.86," and ledger-style annotations record payments linked to Nossi College of Art and Design, where Hale was enrolled. Local reporting and statements attributed to Hale’s parents indicate investigators were told Hale may have used federal Pell Grant funds to purchase weapons used in the attack.
Sequence Of Events
Metro Nashville Police Department released a video of 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale carrying out a shooting at Covenant School on March 27, 2023.
Hale, 28, carried out the March 27, 2023 attack, killing six people—three school staff members and three nine-year-old students—before she was shot and killed by responding Metro Nashville Police officers. Surveillance footage released by authorities showed Hale moving through the school armed with multiple firearms after entering through a side door.
Summaries of investigators' findings show Hale texted a friend shortly before the attack, describing the planned assault as a "suicide mission" and saying the friend would likely "hear about me on the news after I die." Metro Nashville police also recovered a manifesto and hand-drawn maps from Hale's vehicle; however, law enforcement agencies have declined to release the full manifesto to the public.
Memorials for the six victims who were killed in a mass shooting are placed outside the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Three adults and three children were killed inside the school.
Context And Next Steps
The newly released pages add detail to investigators' understanding of Hale's motives, planning and finances, and they have prompted questions about how grant funds were used. Officials have confirmed the documents exist but have not released the complete manifesto. Investigations into funding sources and the full scope of Hale's planning remain ongoing.
Note: The material summarized here is drawn from FBI records and local reporting; some details come from law enforcement summaries and parents' statements provided to investigators.
