Nashville School Shooter Was Devastated by Close Friend’s Death Before Attack, Associates Say

The gunman who killed three adults and three children in a shooting spree at a Nashville school was devastated by the death of a close friend in the months leading up to the attack, according to people who knew the shooter.

Audrey Hale, 28, who was shot dead by police during Monday’s tragedy at the Covenant School, was described as having been distraught by the death of Sydney Shere Sims in a car crash in August, according to NBC News.

Maria Colomy, a former instructor of Hale’s at the Nossi College of Art & Design, told the news outlet Hale had posted messages of grief following Sims’ death on social media.

Read more at The Daily Beast.