Two killed in shooting at Antioch High School, including the shooter

• Other students heading to the cafeteria witnessed the deadly violence as they walked in for lunch.
• Two school resources officers were posted at the high school on Wednesday, but they were in other parts of the campus and didn't arrive on the scene until the shooting was over.

State of play: Police chief John Drake said a motive is still under investigation. Investigators are reviewing "very concerning on-line writings and social media posts" tied to shooter, which include alleged plans for a mass shooting and extremist views, according to police.

• Police identified Antioch student Solomon Henderson as the shooter. The girl killed in the shooting was identified as 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante.
• Another male student was grazed in the shooting. He was treated and released from the hospital. A third student was treated for injuries sustained in a fall.

There is no known connection between Henderson and the shooting victims, police said, adding that they might have been "struck by his random gunfire in the cafeteria."

"As a city, as a community, it is impossibly difficult to be here once again, dealing with the devastation of gun violence in one of our school communities," Mayor Freddie O'Connell said at a press conference.

• "As a Metro Schools parent, I know how difficult it is to receive a notification of an emergency operation at a Metro School," he said.
• "I can't imagine how difficult it must be to receive the notification that there has been this level of violence."

Survivors were shuttled to a nearby clinic on Murfreesboro Pike to be reunited with their families. Parents and other family members flocked to the campus throughout the afternoon.

• With nowhere else to go, they parked on the shoulder of the road and walked to the clinic, where they stood in a line on the grassy lawn, waiting to hear their child's name called out on a bullhorn.

Tiffany Brooks told NewsChannel 5 her granddaughter called as loud pops echoed through the school building. She asked her grandmother what to do.

• "I just told her to run," Brooks said.

Brooks' voice shook as she contemplated the long road ahead for her family.

• "Tonight, when it's all over, I'll lay in the bed and I'll cry," she said. "I can't right now. I've got to make sure everyone is good."

Zoom out: Antioch High School has about 1,900 students and more than 100 teachers, according to Metro Schools.

• The school will be closed for the remainder of the week.

The big picture: This is the second time in less than two years that Nashville has confronted a deadly school shooting.

Flashback: In March 2023, a shooter killed six people, including three elementary school students at The Covenant School.

• In the wake of The Covenant shooting, a substantial gun control movement took hold in Tennessee. But efforts to pass meaningful gun reforms largely failed.

Gov. Bill Lee and Republican leaders instead committed funding for school safety measures, including allocating money for districts to hire school resource officers.

Zoom in: Metro Nashville Public Schools director Adrienne Battle, who served as principal at Antioch High earlier in her career, said the shooting is under active investigation by the district. "We are committed to understanding how and why this happened, and what more we can do to prevent such tragedies in the future."

• At a press conference Wednesday, Battle detailed some of the safety measures the district has undertaken. She said the district has partnered with MNPD for its school resource officer program, installed shatter-resistant film on windows and implemented security cameras "with weapon detection software."

• "Unfortunately these measures were not enough to stop this tragedy," Battle said.

Battle acknowledged there have been questions about whether stationary metal detectors should be considered.

• "While past research has shown they have limitations and unintended consequences, we will continue to explore emerging technologies and strategies to strengthen school safety."

What they're saying: Community leaders expressed grief following Wednesday's Antioch High shooting, while some politicians quickly renewed calls for reforms.

• "Again, our community has suffered an unspeakable tragedy in a school that has detrimentally impacted innocent children and families," state Rep. John Ray Clemmons, a Nashville Democrat, said.
• "We will be praying for the children reportedly injured and all the students of Antioch High School whose lives have been forever altered today. Our efforts will not stop at thoughts and prayers — we will continue to fight for common-sense gun safety solutions that protect our children and communities from gun violence."

"Schools should be safe spaces where children can learn and grow without fear of violence," Voices for a Safer Tennessee, a leading gun reform advocacy group formed in the wake of the Covenant shooting, said in a statement.

• The group acknowledged the disturbing school shooting would likely cause additional anguish for other victims of gun violence, including the Covenant families who have become the face of the reform movement in Tennessee.

"So many lives will never be the same and are now forever marked by this day," Covenant School parent and gun reform advocate Sarah Shoop Neumann said.

• "With every new act of violence, every prior victim is retraumatized and a new group of innocent individuals enters into the unimaginable nightmare they never asked to be a part of."

This is a breaking story. Updates will be provided when they are available.