'Above and beyond': Nashville police moved fast, saved lives in Covenant shooting, experts say

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Ten months ago, law enforcement in Uvalde, Texas, hesitated to engage an active shooter at Robb Elementary School for more than an hour, giving a former student time to kill. A top Texas law enforcement official later said there were enough armed police officers wearing body armor to halt the shooting three minutes after it began. Nineteen students and two teachers perished.

On Monday, the Metro Nashville Police Department received its first call of an active shooter at Covenant School, a private Christian academy for preschoolers through sixth graders, at 10:13 a.m. Within ten minutes, at least five officers, including Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo, made their way through classrooms inside the building.

Four minutes after that, it was over. Police fatally shot suspect Audrey Hale in a lobby on the second floor. Three children and three adults died in the shooting, but Nashville police made a point to illustrate their urgency — in their response time and actions.

Todd McGhee, a 24-year veteran with the Massachusetts State Police, said MNPD's response is a prime example of how acting swiftly can save lives.

Video released: Police release body camera, surveillance footage of Covenant School shooting

"I would say that under extreme circumstances, they went above and beyond," said McGhee, who trains defense tactics and gun safety. "Those first-responding officers were the model response in how active shooter response should be.

"It could have been as bad as Uvalde, based on what Hale had for firepower."

The suspect was carrying "significant ammunition" and three guns, according to police.

McGhee described the episode as a step in the right direction in the evolution of training in large cities.

"We will not wait," MNPD Chief John Drake said. "I was hoping this day would never ever come here in this city, but we will never wait to make entry and to go in and stop a threat."

Drake said during a Tuesday news conference that Hale legally bought seven weapons from five different gun stores, three of which were used yesterday during Monday's shooting.

Hale suffered from an undisclosed emotional disorder, Drake said.

James Bernard Pratt Jr., an associate professor of criminal justice and the program coordinator of homeland security and criminal justice at Fisk University, said police response time and the quick release of information, including body camera footage, was likely influenced by the issues in Uvalde.

'180-degree difference' How the Nashville school shooting police response compares to Uvalde

"A lot of the times, we've seen historically police departments want to wait and provide as little information as possible to make sure the public is OK, but also give time to vet things," Pratt said.

"In this moment, in this instance, I think Uvalde did in fact inform how people are presenting the duty and the role of police in these circumstances."

Lynda Williams, a former deputy assistant director for the secret service and current professor at Middle Tennessee State University, agreed. Williams said a lack of training contributed to the issues in Uvalde.

"Being a former special agent of the secret service for 30 years, we trained for what ifs," Williams said.

Arriving at Covenant School to engaging with shooter

In body-worn camera footage released early Tuesday, officers are arriving at the scene of the shooting in separate vehicles.

“Let’s go!” Engelbert shouted, as he pushed his way into the building.

They began scanning classrooms and adjacent bathrooms on the school’s first floor. With alarms sounding in the background, officers calmly but forcefully communicated with each other.

About 90 seconds after entering the building, officers heard something.

“It sounds like it’s upstairs," one said.

Within seconds, they encountered Hale. Police fired, killing Hale.

Nashville police response times increased in 2022

A recent report actually highlighted an across-the-board increase in Nashville police response times from 2018-2022, especially in the last two years.

Shooting calls especially stood out in the report. While the average response time hit a low of 10.3 minutes in 2019, it tripled last year to 30.8 minutes.

What we know about the victims: Victims of Covenant School shooting include daughter of pastor, head of school

The report was released by the Metro Nashville Community Oversight Board.

A shortfall in officers may be partly to blame for increased response times, MNPD spokesperson Don Aaron told The Tennessean. As of fall 2022, the department was 164 officers shy of the 1,608 it is authorized to employ in a fast-growing city. This does not account for 87 trainees working their way through the police academy.

Nashville is home to more than 678,000 people, according to the latest Census data. The Nashville region as a whole, which includes 16 counties, topped 2.1 million people in 2022. Regional leaders project that to surpass 2.5 million by 2040.

Responding with urgency, training

Based on their response, MNPD's patrol officers have been properly trained in eliminating an active shooter threat.

McGhee said training to respond to threats has drastically changed since the Columbine shooting in 1999. Before that Colorado school shooting that killed 15, McGhee said, any active shooter issues would be met by tactical teams like SWAT.

Twenty-four years later, McGhee said every officer needs to be prepared to stop a threat.

McGhee said one flaw with Uvalde’s response to their May 2022 shooting, was first responders did not take out the threat. It was 77 minutes later where a tactical response team killed the Robb Elementary gunman.

"What we saw with Uvalde was the lack of response, the lack of leadership and the lack of incident command. What transpired was a broken system," McGhee said.

Old methods, McGhee said, would have police train at 25 yards in shooting targets, then move in all the way to three yards.

Now, officers are asked to address situations in real time, with either real people or mechanical dummies sitting in cars and then exiting as police approach. It’s split-second training like that, McGhee said, that better prepares officers.

And waiting for commands to make movements or fire shots is no more. Uvalde used a static approach, McGhee said, failing to address the shooter quickly and putting lives at risk.

Pratt said it appears Nashville officers moved swiftly. He said police at The Covenant School “were close by and tried to do their job the right way,” which prevented more bloodshed and expedited public communication.

“Uvalde may have informed how they moved,” Pratt said.

As Nashville police arrived at Covenant School, Hale was firing rounds from a second-floor room. The officers moved ahead, following the gunfire. In Uvalde, static.

"Fortunately, we did not have a lack of response like in Uvalde," McGhee said. "Those officers did a tremendous job with taking on fire and still advancing and not waiting for SWAT."

Pratt echoed those sentiments.

“What went wrong (in Uvalde) was several things. I think communication with parents and community members. I think that immediate action was lacking there," Pratt said.

Pratt has family who are police officers so he understands they are going into dangerous situations. But he added a caveat.

“If this is the name of your job, then it’s expected you are prepared and ready to take the risk that’s necessary to protect the least of these," Pratt said.

Rachel Wegner, Gary Estwick and Chris Gadd contributed to this story.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on Twitter @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Covenant shooting: How Nashville police response compares to Uvalde