Lawyers for The Covenant School in Nashville filed a motion on Monday to intervene in lawsuits calling for the release of the 28-year-old female mass shooter’s manifesto, citing security and safety concerns for staff and students at the private education institution.
Local media reported that school officials are concerned the manifesto could publicize sensitive information about the school, including schematics of the facilities and confidential information about employees and students.
“The disposition of this action may impair or impede its ability to protect its interests and the privacy of its employees and students,” the motion reads, according to Fox 17 Nashville.
Two months have passed since a female, who identified as a man and who this publication is not naming to avoid giving notoriety to shooters, carried out a mass shooting at the private Presbyterian school that left six dead, including three 9-year-olds. The victims’ names included Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9; Hallie Scruggs, 9; William Kinney, 9; Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61.
Metro Nashville Police officers fatally shot the woman just minutes after authorities received the first call, according to previous reports. Federal and local authorities searched the property of the female shooter, where they found five laptops, a suicide note, two memoirs, five Covenant School yearbooks, and seven cellphones, according to a search warrant.
Metro Nashville Director of Law Wally Dietz issued a statement to the news outlet supporting the school’s decision, saying local authorities “believe the Church and the School have a right to be heard.”
Nashville officials also filed a response supporting the school’s motion.
“The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson does not oppose the intervention of Covenant Presbyterian Church of Nashville or The Covenant School,” city officials said. “The Metropolitan Government believes these entities have important interests in whether the documents in MNPD’s investigative file are released to the public.”
“The Metropolitan Government supports their intervention and asks that the Court give them an opportunity to participate in the show cause hearing and consider their interests and arguments,” the response continued.
Tennessee House Republicans sent a letter to the Nashville chief of police asking for releasing the writings and toxicology reports for the trans-identifying shooter earlier this week, saying the information is vital to understanding the killer’s motives before a special session called by Republican Governor Bill Lee.
Dietz responded to the letter from Tennessee GOP lawmakers, saying under the view of the court order, “it is inaccurate to allege that Metro alone now controls whether documents are released.”
“The Chancellor ordered Metro to file under seal with the Court unredacted copies of the documents to be discussed at the May 18 status conference for an in camera review by the Chancellor only,” Dietz said. “We filed the unredacted documents under seal on Friday, together with our proposed redactions of certain sections of documents based on exceptions to the Tennessee Public Records Act.”
“In view of this Court order, it is inaccurate to allege that Metro alone now controls whether documents are released. We cannot do so at this time without violating a court order.”
Nashville city attorneys submitted an unredacted copy of the manifesto to a county judge on Friday for review after several lawsuits were filed demanding its release to the public.
Attorneys representing the city submitted two versions of the manifesto — an unredacted copy and a proposed redacted duplicate — to the Davidson County Chancellor’s chambers for review before a public hearing about releasing the writings scheduled for June 8.