ANTIOCH, Tenn. (WKRN) – A teenage gunman opened fire in a Tennessee high school cafeteria Wednesday morning before turning the gun on himself, killing a 16-year-old girl and wounding another student, authorities said. Police announced.
Just after 11 a.m. CT, Metro Nashville police were called to Antioch High School, a suburb of Nashville with about 2,000 students about 16 miles southeast of downtown.
Police Chief John Drake said that according to a student at Antioch High School, a 17-year-old boy who was participating in the school’s Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program “confronted” a 16-year-old female student. Ta. He entered the cafeteria and opened fire, killing her.
The student was identified by Metro Nashville Police as Jocelyn Coria-Escalante. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Drake said police are investigating the motive and whether the students who were shot were targeted.
Police said the suspect then “shot himself in the head.” The boy who died at the scene was identified as Solomon Henderson.
What we know so far about the Antioch school shooting
A male student (unidentified) sustained abrasions. He was treated and released from the hospital, Drake said. Another male student suffered facial injuries in the fall and was taken to a local hospital.
An ambulance leaves Antioch High School after a mass shooting Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) This photo provided by Metro Nashville Police. Emergency workers gather outside Antioch High School after the shooting. Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee (Nashville Metro Police via Associated Press) A school bus arrives at the unification site following a school shooting. Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee, Wednesday, January 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) A school bus arrives at a unified venue following the shooting at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee. Wednesday, January 22nd. 22nd, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) A school bus arrives at the unification site following the mass shooting at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee. Wednesday, January 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) A school bus arrives at a unification site following the mass shooting at Antioch High School on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. (AP Photo/George Walker) IV) People wait for a school bus to arrive at the unification site after the mass shooting at Antioch High School on Wednesday, Jan. 22, in Nashville, Tennessee. 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Metro Police said two school resource officers were inside the school at the time of the shooting, but they were not near the cafeteria. Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said at a news conference that the shooting had stopped before officers arrived at the cafeteria.
Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also reportedly at the scene. FBI spokeswoman Elizabeth Clement-Webb said in an email that as of early Wednesday afternoon, Nashville police had not requested assistance from federal authorities in investigating the shooting.
“The President and his team are monitoring the news from Nashville,” the White House said in a statement. “As more details emerge, the White House sends its thoughts and prayers to those affected by this senseless tragedy and thanks the brave first responders who responded to the incident.”
Students talk about harrowing moments inside Antioch High School
Brandi Lemons, a student at the school, told Nexstar’s WKRN that she and her friends “ran” after hearing the gunshots, adding that she helped other students hide from the suspected gunman.
Lemon also said he witnessed the suspect point a gun at him.
“I’m shocked,” Lemons said. “It was right in front of me.”
Antioch High School shooting causes parents to rush to reunion center
Immediately after the shooting, Metro Nashville Public Schools Director of Communications and Technology Sean Braisted said in a statement that Antioch High School was on lockdown “due to shots fired inside the school building.” Braisted added that the school is an “active crime scene and investigation.”
Two students waiting to be reunited with their parents told WKRN they were locked in a classroom. One person said they had to sit in a closet until the lockdown was lifted. Tactical officers were called in to clear buildings and stabilize the campus while students were bused to the Unification Center.
What researchers have discovered so far
Drake said the suspect arrived at the school by bus and appears to have recovered a handgun from the bathroom. Drake said there may have been at least one “prior incident” involving a 17-year-old boy at the school, but he said he did not have details.
One student told WKRN that the boy was “smart, at the top of his class, quiet and kept to himself.” She said she also participated in the ROTC program at Antioch High School. Officials have not yet confirmed this information.
Nashville Schools Superintendent Adrian Battle said public schools have “a variety of safety measures” in place, including partnerships with law enforcement for school staff, security cameras with weapon detection software and This includes installing shatterproof film and safety entrances. Barrier between external visitors and the main entrance.
“Unfortunately, these measures were not enough to stop this tragedy,” Battle said.
Investigators reportedly spoke with the shooter’s parents.
The reintegration process takes many hours
As the reunion process began, WKRN crews spotted a car that appeared to have been abandoned by a family rushing to the gathering location.
Dajuan Bernard, who was waiting to be reunited with his son, told The Associated Press that he was “a little surprised” when he first heard about the shooting. The 10th grade student was on the second floor at the scene when he heard gunshots.
“His mom wants to homeschool him anyway, so I don’t know. I might consider it,” he said. “This world is so crazy and it can happen anywhere. We have to protect our kids and raise them right so they don’t do this. That’s the hardest part.”
Fonda Abner, whose granddaughter is a student at the school, said Antioch High School does not have metal detectors to alert authorities to the presence of guns. She said her granddaughter called her several times, but she just heard the commotion and thought it was a pocket dial. They spoke briefly before being interrupted.
Nashville school shooting is a major concern
In March 2023, a shooting incident occurred at Covenant School, a private Christian elementary school in the city, killing three 9-year-old children and three adults.
The tragedy prompted a months-long effort by hundreds of community organizers, family members, protesters and many more to implore lawmakers to consider passing gun control legislation in the wake of the shooting. did.
But Republican lawmakers in the Republican-dominated state rejected it. With the Republican supermajority still in place after the November election, it is unlikely that attitudes have changed enough to consider meaningful legislation to address gun control.
Instead, lawmakers have been active in making schools safer, including last year allowing some teachers to carry concealed handguns on public school grounds and allowing parents and other teachers to decide who is armed. They passed a bill that prohibits people from knowing what they are doing.
Antioch has seen other high-profile mass shootings in recent years. In 2017, a mass shooting at Burnett Chapel Church of Christ left one woman dead and seven others injured. And in 2018, a gunman killed four people at a Waffle House.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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