Updated March 27, 2023 at 3:43 PM ET
Three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at a private religious school in Nashville, authorities said.
The shooter, who police said was a 28-year-old Nashville woman, was shot dead by two officers.
The shooting occurred at Covenant School, a private religious school in Nashville. The three children who died were students, and the three adults who died were staff members, Nashville police spokesperson Don Aaron said in a press briefing Monday.
The first call came in at 10:13 a.m. The shooter "entered the school through a side entrance and traversed her way from the first floor to the second floor, firing multiple shots," Aaron said.
The shooter had two assault-style rifles and at least one pistol, he said, and the shooting took place in a "lobby-type area" in an upper part of the school. The shooter was dead by 10:27 a.m., he added.
At least five of the victims were transported to emergency departments at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. A spokesperson for the hospital confirmed to NPR that three children and two adults sent to the hospital had died.
Aaron said he was not aware of any other gunshot victims from the shooting. He said a responding officer had a wound from cut glass.
A reunification center for parents and students has been set up nearby with mental health specialists available.
According to its website, the Covenant School is a private school associated with the Covenant Presbyterian Church serving students from preschool through sixth grade. On a regular day there would be about 209 students and 42 staff members at the school, Aaron said.
According to the national Gun Violence Archive, there have been 128 mass shootings in the U.S. this year.
Mayor John Cooper said Nashville was joining the "dreaded, long list" of cities and towns that have suffered school shootings.
"My heart goes out to the families of the victims," Cooper said. "Our entire city stands with you."
President Biden called the Nashville shooting "sick" and "heartbreaking," saying it was "a family's worst nightmare."
"We have to do more to stop gun violence. It's ripping our communities apart, ripping at the very soul of our nation," he said at the White House.
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