Nashville mayor orders leak probe after purported Covenant shooting document release

Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell has ordered an investigation after conservative media personality Steven Crowder released what he said were documents from the Covenant School shooter online Monday.

“I have directed Wally Dietz, Metro’s Law Director, to initiate an investigation into how these images could have been released," O'Connell said in a statement. "That investigation may involve local, state, and federal authorities. I am deeply concerned with the safety, security, and well-being of the Covenant families and all Nashvillians who are grieving.

“This incident naturally invokes additional emotional trauma, and families or individuals who need support should reach out to professionals at National Alliance on Mental Illness (615-891-4724), MNPD support counselors (615-862-7773) or MNPS Family Information Center (615-259-INFO).”

The Tennessean has not independently confirmed the authenticity of the documents released by Crowder. Dietz said Monday that he couldn't confirm or deny the authenticity of the documents because of pending litigation.

"At this time, we have limited information about this possible leak of documents related to the tragic shooting at Covenant School," Dietz said in a statement.

The Metro Nashville Police Department released a statement late Monday afternoon, saying the images were not affiliated with its investigation. The agency also confirmed it is cooperating with Metro legal as it investigates how the documents were released.

"The photographs are not MNPD crime scene images," police said in their statement. "The police department has been in contact with a representative of Covenant families. Police department counselors are available to assist them in coping with the emotional trauma caused by the dissemination."

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Some Covenant School family members slammed the release of the documents Monday.

"We knew these writings, these thoughts from the shooter were heinous … the damage done today is already significant, and I'm worried it's only going to grow," said Brent Leatherwood, a Covenant parent. He said several of the parents had called him, upset and afraid to look at social media.

"Now, a community, a school, families who have already suffered so much, are left, yet again, to deal with this terror," he said.

Leatherwood said he and the parents of Covenant School victims had not seen the shooter's writings and deferred any questions about the validity of the documents to police.

"To the person who released these images, you are a viper. You are a member of the law enforcement community and released evidence that was gathered in our most vulnerable moment," Leatherwood said. "You have now allowed (the shooter) who terrorized us with bullets to be able to now terrorize us with words from the grave."

Crowder's release comes amid an ongoing legal case involving the release of the writings and other documents.

Tennessean reporters requested several records within days of the shooting on March 27, when the former Covenant student entered the school and killed six people, including three children.

Several groups, including The Tennessean, sued Metro Nashville after those records requests were denied. The school and Covenant families are intervening in the lawsuit and seeking to prevent the city from releasing the records. The case remains pending in court.

Some organizations, like The Tennessean, cited an interest in bringing to light "additional facts regarding this incident, societal and mental health issues, and issues regarding firearms more broadly, which have not yet been revealed through other means," according to the news organization's complaint.

The records requested by The Tennessean are the documents in the shooter's possession prior to death, including those in the shooter's car and home; all police reports of the shooter in the Metro Nashville Police Department's possession; all calls for service to The Covenant School and the shooter's home from the past five years; and incident reports from MNPD's responses to the shooter's home on March 27.

The Tennessean has no plans to publish the writings verbatim and has sought to center coverage on public policy, the victims and the community. The news organization, for instance, profiled each of the victims and their contributions and visited dozens of houses of worship following the March shooting to learn how the community was dealing with the tragedy.

The Tennessean is not reporting on the contents of the documents released by Crowder Monday.

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

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville mayor orders probe into Covenant shooting documents, release