The final messages that transgender school shooter Audrey Hale sent to a friend give a glimpse into her plans for that day.
The messages were sent to Hale’s friend Averianna Patton on Instagram approximately 16 minutes before the shooting began.
Hale, 28, shot and killed three nine-year-old students and three teachers at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday. She was fatally shot by police inside of the building.
Patton had played basketball with Hale in middle school and remained friends.
“So basically that post I made on here about you, that was basically a suicide note,” Hale wrote. “I’m planning to die today.”
“THIS IS NOT A JOKE!!!!: Hale continued. “You’ll probably hear about me on the news after I die,” the killer continued.
The killer signed the message as both Audrey, her birth name, and Aiden — her transgender alias.
“My family doesn’t know what I’m about to do,” Hale continued. “One day this will make more sense. I’ve left more than enough evidence behind.”
The messages conclude by saying that “something bad is about to happen.”
Patton called the police, but it was already too late.
Appearing on CNN on Tuesday, Patton said that Hale had previously been suicidal.
“Audrey has shared with others that she had been suicidal in the past and I knew to take this serious,” the former friend said.
Patton explained that she was on hold for seven minutes with the non-emergency line and that Hale had already begun shooting by the time she spoke to the police.
“I called Nashville’s non-emergency line at 10:14 am and was on hold for nearly seven minutes before speaking with someone who said that they would send an officer to my home,” Patton said.
The first 9-1-1 call reporting the shooting came in at 10:13 am.
Hale was dead by 10:27 a.m.
Cassandra MacDonald
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