Nashville police officers recall rushing to Covenant School

Posted by Abbie Anker on Tuesday, April 30, 2024

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The Metro Nashville Police Department officers who rushed into Covenant School to face a heavily armed active shooter spoke publicly for the first time Monday night detailing their crucial live-saving efforts.

Audrey Hale, 28, killed three children and three staffers during a 14-minute shooting spree on March 27 inside the private Nashville elementary school, before being shot down by two officers.

The hero officers who responded to the call within moments recalled encountering victims’ lifeless bodies and the “smell of gunpowder” that lingered in the air.

MNPD Officer Rex Engelbert and Det. Michael Collazo are the two officers who killed Hale, leading a fearless team who entered the locked-down school despite being under fire.

Engelbert and Collazo each fired four shots at Hale, who was armed with two assault rifles and a handgun. Hale was killed within minutes of officers’ arrival, as documented in police body camera footage that was later released.

But Engelbert told reporters Tuesday he would not typically have been in the area – and was on his way to the police academy when he heard the call, according to local news reports.

“I really had no business being where I was,” Engelbert said, according to video shared by WSMV.com. “You can call it fate or God or whatever you want.

“I can’t count on my hands the irregularities that put me in that position when the call for service went out for an active deadly aggressor at a school.”

“Not knowing what I was going into, I walked through that door without hesitation.”

Detective Sgt. Jeff Mathes

Detective Sgt. Jeff Mathes described how “the smell of gunpowder was in the air.”

“All of us stepped over a victim,” he went on. “I, to this day, do not know how I did that morally. But training is what kicked in.”

Mathes said he approached the school to see Engelbert – an officer he did not recognize – leading the charge.

Engelbert reportedly unlocked the door using a master key he received at the school from a staffer outside.

Mathes said he had “never see Rex in my life.”

Metro Nashville Police Detective Sgt. Jeff Mathes, sitting left, Detective Michael Collazo, Officer Rex Engelbert and Metro Nashville Commander Midtown Dayton Wheeler, on April 4, 2023. Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
Metro Nashville Police Officer Rex Engelbert Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
Metro Nashville Police Det. Michael Collazo Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

“When we got there, he had already unlocked the door. Not knowing what I was going into, I walked through that door without hesitation.”

Collazo recalled encountering his first victim, school custodian Mike Hill, shortly after entering the school.

The sense of urgency “kicked into overdrive” amid the sound of gunfire, he said.

I ran into that second victim laid on the ground. We had to push past the victims because we continued to hear more shots being,” he went on. “It was very distinctive you could tell it was rifle rounds being fired.”

“Smoke was everywhere. Our training academy has put us through this countless times,” Collazo said.

Hale, who police said was transgender, fired into the locked side doors at Covenant School, her former alma mater, around 10:10 a.m. March 27.

The shooter crawled through the shattered glass doors and entered the school.

Audrey Hale seen on surveillance footage inside the Covenant School on March 27, 2023. Metropolitan Nashville Police De/AFP via Getty Images

She was then seen stalking through the empty halls of the school as 911 calls poured in.

Armed with two rifles and a handgun, Hale unleashed 152 bullets during the assault and fired upon officers as they entered the school parking lot, police have said.

Engelbert was first to fire at Hale, and did so within two minutes and 15 seconds of entering the school, according to the report.

Moments after officers disarmed Audrey Hale inside the Covenant School on March 27, 2023. Metropolitan Nashville Police Department

Nine-year-olds Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney were killed in the attack as well as Hill, substitute teacher Cynthia Peak and headmistress Katherine Koonce.

MNPD Chief Drake acknowledged the six victims and their grieving families at Tuesday’s press conference, and told reporters: “I could see the pain and hurt that they were dealing with.”

Hale left behind a suicide note, a manifesto, and several notes and journals, according to court records obtained by The Post.

Top from left; William Kinney, Evelyn Dieckhaus, and Hallie Scruggs. Bottom from left; Cynthia Peak, Katherine Koonce, and Mike Hill.

Police have said they recovered several more legally obtained weapons hidden throughout Hale’s home, despite that her disapproving parents thought she had since sold the weaponry.

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