(Tennessee Lookout) — Two teenage students are dead and one is injured following a Wednesday shooting at Antioch High School in South Nashville, Metro Nashville police confirmed.
The shooter, who was identified as Solomon Henderson, 17, shot two students in the cafeteria at 11:09 a.m. before killing himself, according to police. Josselin Corea Escalante, 16, was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. The other, a male, suffered a grazing wound.
Police had not yet publicly identified the shooter and victims as of Wednesday at 2 p.m.
Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Adrienne Battle released a statement Wednesday evening saying: “This is a heartbreaking day for the entire Antioch High School community and all of us in Nashville Public Schools. My heart goes out to the families of our students as they face unimaginable loss. I want to thank the school staff who quickly and heroically followed emergency protocols, potentially preventing further harm, as well as the Metro Nashville Police Department and Nashville Fire Department for their swift and urgent response.
“While we have been focused on addressing the immediate situation, we are committed to understanding how and why this happened and what more we can do to prevent such tragedies in the future. It’s important to remember that our schools have historically been safe places for learning, friendship, and growth. We cannot allow this tragedy to overshadow the positive experiences of our 80,000 students.”
Antioch High School will be closed for the rest of the week to give students time to grieve, Battle said, and grief counseling will be provided there and at other schools, which will remain open.
“We are committed to supporting Antioch High School’s students, staff, and families in the days and weeks ahead. I am grateful for the support of our Nashville community as we navigate this difficult time together,” she said.
The shooting comes almost two years after three 9-year-old students and three staff members were shot to death at The Covenant School in Nashville before police intervened and killed the shooter.
It also comes just three months after a shooting on Nashville’s historic Jefferson Street killed a 24-year-old man, and injured six adults and three teenagers.
Wednesday’s shooting drew renewed grief from lawmakers, along with some pleas for “common sense gun safety solutions.”
“As a mother and a representative of this community, I grieve with the families, students, and staff who are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,” said Sen. Charlane Oliver, a Nashville Democrat who represents the Antioch area in the state legislature, in a statement. “My heart goes out to the victims who were shot, their loved ones, and everyone impacted by this horrific act of violence. No child should ever feel unsafe in their school, and no family should face the anguish of such a senseless loss.”
Other elected officials took to social media following the shooting.
Gov. Bill Lee said “he was praying for the victims, their families and the school community.”
State Sen. Jeff Yarbro, a Nashville Democrat, called for the legislature to “start doing the work needed to keep kids safe.”
“High school kids really ought to be able to go to the cafeteria without fear of being shot,” Yarbro said.
Nashville State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, the state House Democratic Caucus chair, echoed Yarbro’s sentiments.
“We will continue to fight for common sense gun safety solutions that protect our children and communities from gun violence,” Clemmons wrote.
Antioch High School serves about 2,200 students speaking 41 languages, and offers STEM programs and an international baccalaureate curriculum. School buses have taken students to be reunified with parents at Ascension St. Thomas Hospital, 3754 Murfreesboro Rd.
