One student is dead and another was wounded in a shooting at Antioch High School at 11:09 a.m. Wednesday morning. The assailant, also a student at the school, then turned the weapon on himself, according to police.
Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said the 17-year-old shooter, identified as Solomon Henderson, fired multiple shots with a pistol, killing 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante and grazing an unidentified 17-year-old male in the arm before he killed himself. Aaron confirmed that two student resource officers were in the building at the time of the shooting but did not reach the cafeteria before the incident was over.
A third student was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for a non-shooting facial injury sustained as a result of a fall.
The online platform Kick released a statement saying that Henderson had at least partially live-streamed the event.
Late Wednesday afternoon, several media outlets, including Newschannel 5, reported the existence of a collection of writings from Henderson as well as a map of the school. In the text, Henderson describes not only himself — “I’m ashamed to be black. I feel like s*** being a n******” — but also a profound level of antisemitism, sympathizing with Nazis and fully denying the Holocaust.
He said that his radicalization was in part due to a number of far-right figures, including Nick Fuentes and former Nashvillian Candace Owens.
“Candace Owens has influenced me above all each time she spoke I was stunned by her insights and her own views helped push me further and further into the belief of violence over the Jewish question,” he wrote online.
MNPD Chief John Drake — flanked by Mayor Freddie O’Connell, District Attorney Glenn Funk, Metro Fire Department Chief William Swann and MNPS Director of Schools Adrienne Battle at a Wednesday afternoon press conference — said that an investigation is underway. Drake said that had Henderson’s writings been seen ahead of time “maybe more can be done.” Wednesday evening, MNPD released a statement saying that it had not found any connection between Henderson and the victims.
“If you see something, say something,” Drake said.
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