In Nashville transgender woman shoots schoolchildren

Three children and three adults were killed Monday in a shooting at a Christian school in the U.S. state capital of Tennessee, Nashville. The assailant was a 28-year-old transgender woman who was shot and killed by police, the BBC reported.

According to the police, the crime was committed at the school on Burton Hills Boulevard in Nashville. Officers who arrived on the scene engaged in a shootout and killed the shooter. She was armed with two assault rifles and a handgun.

At a news conference, police spokesman Don Aaron said three children and three school employees were among those killed in the shooting. The three children who died were all nine years old, two adults were 61 and one was 60.

One police officer was wounded.

Hours after the crime, police identified the shooter as Audrey Hale, who police said identified herself as transgender.

As for the motive for the crime, police said they found some kind of "manifesto" on the shooter and have some speculation, but cannot yet give an exact motive.

CNN reports that Audrey Hale graduated from the Nashville College of Art and Design a year ago. Her LinkedIn page says she worked as a freelance designer and part-time store assistant.

U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered that flags be lowered at all official institutions nationwide by the end of March as a sign of mourning for those killed in Nashville.