A 911 call captured horror as a shooter conducted a massacre at a Nashville Christian School.
Audio recordings of 911 calls during the massacre at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, have been released to the public. This shooting took the lives of three adults and three children, including an alumna of Texas Christian University and the daughter of a Dallas pastor, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Dispatchers registered the earliest known call of shots fired at 10:12 a.m., the Nashville Police Department said in a press release. More calls were received for over half an hour, according to USA Today. Police officers shot and killed the shooter less than 15 minutes after the first 911 call.
The Metro Department of Emergency Communications released 26 of these recordings.
Recordings released by the Tennessean Newsroom detailed the confusion and horror of those present as the shooter opened fire. One caller reported hearing the shooter firing successive shots.
Four minutes after the first reported call, a woman called pleading for a response from emergency personnel.
“Is help coming? Please tell me,” she said. “I’m pregnant. I’m 21 weeks pregnant,” she continued.
“I’m hearing rapid fire,” said a man claiming to be a pastor. “Oh Lord Jesus, help us. Protect us, Lord,” he continued.
Police said 28-year-old Audrey Hale had entered the school with two assault-style rifles and a handgun.
A teacher made another call as she attempted to hide in an art room closet with her students. As the woman whispered to 911 operators, a child whimpered in the background, “I want to go home.”
Dispatchers, however, assured callers that help was on the way.
“We are sending the cavalry, trust me, we understand the situation,” said a dispatcher in one of these recordings.
Nashville police say the investigation into the shooting is still ongoing.