Photos from the school yearbook show trans mass murderer Audrey Hale beaming next to her basketball teammates in her teens — while former players speak out about her “obsessive and stalker-like” behavior.
During her time at Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School in Nashville, Hale, 28, was part of the successful Lady Comets hoop team. Hale’s coach Antoine Buchanan recounted The Tennessee that Hale was a “benchwarmer” who would only play when the team was “really winning” or “really losing.”
In the wake of the mass murder in Nashville this week that left six people dead, including three nine-year-olds, former teammates have now spoken out about the strange behavior of trans school shooter Audrey Hale.
Mia Phillips told The Tennessean that the killer was “shy” but that the team had “befriended” her during their time playing together. After the couple went their separate ways at different high schools, Phillips said Hale constantly messaged her on social media and once found an email sent from an account that was just set up.
“I try to be as respectful and also as honest as possible. It felt obsessive. It felt like stalker-like behavior,” Phillips told the newspaper.
Hale, 28, played hoop on the women’s team at Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School in Nashville
Hale, up front in this team photo, was essentially a bench warmer for the team, according to their coach
“She would have played if we were really winning or losing,” her coach Antoine Buchanan told The Tennessean
Investigators have not disclosed what motivated Hale to kill students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all aged 9, and Katherine Koonce, 60, the school’s principal; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian
Investigators have not disclosed what motivated Hale to kill students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all aged 9, and Katherine Koonce, 60, the school’s principal; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian at Covenant School in Nashville on Monday.
In her interview with the Tennessee, Mia Phillips described a February 2022 incident when Hale faked being drunk at a party despite not having any drinks.
“Everyone was confused. It just rubbed us in a weird way, like it made us feel really negative. It didn’t feel right,” she said.
After Phillips left the party, Hale coherently texted her asking her to come back.
Following the death of one of their teammates, Sidney Sims, 22, in August 2022 following a car accident, Phillips said Hale followed her to her car to continue hanging out.
“I told her it wasn’t the time or the place for us all to grieve,” Phillips told the paper.
Another former teammate of both Hale and Patton called 911 the day of the tragedy after receiving disturbing Instagram messages from the killer.
Averianna Patton said she knew Hale had been suicidal in the past
She shot and killed three students, 9, and three staff at 10:10 a.m. – she sent the messages to Patton at 9:57 a.m.
After receiving a certain message from Hale stating, “I plan to die today – you’ll probably hear about me on the news,” Patton called a suicide hotline, who then encouraged her to contact authorities to notify them of the situation. .
In her 911 call around 10:12 a.m. — when armed officers were already on the scene — she said, “I’m just trying to see if anyone can help. I just don’t want it on my conscience.
“If anyone can go and check on her — all I have is her Instagram. Can I give you her Instagram so you can find or follow her that way?’
Hale’s former basketball teammate was told there was nothing officers could do to help without the shooter’s address.
But the Metropolitan Nashville Police confirmed to Fox17 that at the time of the call, police had already arrived at the private Christian school to deal with the shooter.
Hale, passing both Audrey and Aiden, had already shot and killed six people when police arrived.
At 9:57 a.m., 16 minutes before police were first notified of the shooting, Audrey wrote, “So basically that post I posted here about you was actually a suicide note.
“I intend to die today. THIS IS NOT A JOKE!!! You’ll probably hear about me on the news after I die.
“This is my last goodbye. I love you. See you in another life. Audrey (Aiden).’
Police have said Hale was under medical treatment for an undisclosed “emotional disorder.”
However, authorities have not disclosed any connection between that concern and the shooting. Police also said Hale was not on their radar before the attack.
Social media accounts and other sources indicate that the shooter identified as male and may have recently started using the first name Aiden.
According to police, Hale was “assigned female at birth” but used male pronouns on a social media profile. However, police have continued to use female pronouns and the name Audrey to describe Hale.
911 calls from officials surrounding the shooting included the voices of teachers and school officials, some whispering as they hid in classrooms, cubicles, bathrooms and offices as alarms rang. A teacher tells an operator that she is in a classroom with 17 children and hears “so many shots.”
In another call, 76-year-old retired church member Tom Pulliam tells the coordinator that he is running away from the Christian school with a group, including several children.
Although Pulliam remains calm, the tension and confusion of the situation are evident, with several adults talking at once and children’s voices in the background.
When the dispatcher asks for a description of the shooter, Pulliam asks a second man to come on the line.
“All I saw was a man with an assault rifle shooting through the door. It was — he’s currently in the second-class corridor, upstairs,” the man says, pointing out that the attacker was dressed in camouflage.
When asked how many shots were fired, a woman replies, “I heard about 10 and I left the building.”
Pulliam, who was driving near the church with his wife when the attack took place, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he is struggling to understand. He said he mostly remembers the kids and how calm they seemed, not “yelling and yelling or anything.”
“Up there for a normal school day, these young kids,” he said. “Now, there are hard days to go through.”
In another call that began just before 10:13 a.m., a woman tells a dispatcher that she can hear a pause in the gunfire from her hiding place in a closet in an art room.
When asked if it is a safe place, the woman replies: ‘I think so’, as children can be heard in the background.
The teacher then says she can hear more gunshots and begs the dispatcher, “Hurry up.”
In another call, Chief Pastor Chad Scruggs, whose daughter was killed in the attack, identifies himself and tells the operator that he is outside the building and heading towards the gunfire.
“I get calls from the inside,” he says.
A woman, hiding under a desk in a daycare center, tells a coordinator that the school, which is affiliated with the Covenant Presbyterian Church, sometimes has staffers who carry firearms but has no dedicated security guards.
“We have a student, or two, I’m not sure, who would pack—whose job it is for security,” she says. “We don’t have security guards, but we do have staff.”
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