OAN Staff Cory Hawkins
5:47 PM – Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Following a legal battle, the Trump administration’s FBI has released more than 100 additional pages of writings from Audrey Hale, the transgender shooter responsible for the March 2023 attack at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.
These newly unclassified documents, part of a massive collection of notebooks and journals, offer a chilling look into the planning and financing of the assault that claimed the lives of three children and three adults.
Hale, a biological woman who identified as a transgender man, used federal student financial aid, specifically Pell Grants, to fund the purchase of firearms used in the heinous 2023 attack. Pell Grants are federal financial aid for low-income students and can be disbursed directly to the recipient for living expenses after tuition, allowing personal use.
The FBI-released documents reportedly include Hale’s handwritten “Account Savings Record” page, tracking federal Pell Grant funds received via FAFSA, starting with checks around $2,050–$2,656 from Nossi College of Art and Design, where Hale was enrolled.
The page was placed immediately alongside or near entries detailing firearms she planned to purchase. This report corroborates statements Hale’s parents made to Nashville police investigators in 2023.
Hale, being over 25 and unemployed, had qualified for Pell Grants independently of family income, and used the money to buy seven guns — three used in the attack and others recovered from home.
In the announcement, the FBI released more than 100 pages of Hale’s writings showcasing the shooter comparing and contrasting different aspects of various guns, including sight options and shooting accuracy.
The released materials also include a redacted 230-page planning journal, hand-drawn maps, and home videos documenting preparations. The notes date back to 2021, indicating a lengthy and well-thought-out plan.
Hale wrote about her financial records in her journal, showing a beginning balance of a $2,050.86 FAFSA grant and noting “$2,656.87 (x3 checks from Nossi, funded by Pell Grants).” The next ledger entry states, “+$530.00 (x1 check Nossi) ($3,186.87).”
Examples of financed weapon purchases include: a KelTec Sub 2000 carbine in April 2021 and a Mossberg Shockwave shotgun in June 2021, bought with leftover grant money; a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield pistol in July 2021, partially funded by loan leftovers and a credit card; and initial guns like a Smith & Wesson M&P-15 AR-style rifle in October 2020, bought with federal student loans.
She sold some firearms, such as the M&P-15 AR-style rifle, to fund other weapon purchases, simultaneously hiding purchases from her family and her therapist by using cash where possible and deleting transaction histories.
The shooter also passed all required background checks for the licensed dealer purchases, with no indication the student aid was obtained fraudulently. It was legitimately awarded but diverted for illegal purchases.
In her writings, Hale wrote that she wanted to “Kill all the White children,” spouting racially hateful content in 16 different notebooks while reiterating a desire to “kill” her “own race” and “destroy all White people who are teachers.”
“Being White sucks, but being Black is so cool. Black people should rule. White people should fall, every White person, living or dead. I hate you all,” she added.
Hale’s writings also reveal a calculated approach to her appearance, detailing how she wore specific clothing to project a more “harmless” image. She suggested that this years-long effort at social camouflage was a deliberate tactic to mask her sinister intentions and ensure her planning went undetected by those around her.
Hale’s journals document a complex struggle with gender dysphoria and a profound resentment and hatred toward her conservative, Christian upbringing. By the time of the attack, she had adopted the more masculine name Aiden and took on male pronouns, framing this identity within a broader narrative of alienation.
The writings seemingly reveal that Hale viewed her “gender transition” and the subsequent shooting as a final act of rebellion against the social and religious institutions she felt had marginalized her.
Investigators say that Hale’s attack was rooted by extreme resentment from social isolation and bullying in middle and high school, as well as a desire for fame, modeled after Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. She also believed that killing Christian children would give her death “meaning” and avoid being forgotten.
The 28-year-old carried out the attack at the Christian elementary school on March 27, 2023, after years of planning and training. She entered the school through a side entrance, with surveillance footage capturing Hale walking through the hallway with multiple guns.
Before the shooting, Hale also texted her friend to say that she was on a “suicide mission,” insinuating that she would be on the news.
Hale killed the six children and adults before being shot dead by responding Metro Nashville Police Department officers. The victims were identified as school staff members Katherine Koonce, 60; Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, 61; along with students Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus, and William Kinney, all aged 9.
The full details of the manifesto have not been released to the public. Check back for updates.
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