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Horror Nashville body cam footage of cops Rex Engelbert & Michael Collazo taking down trans shooter
PULSE-pounding police body camera footage shows the moment officers storm into a Nashville elementary school and take down mass shooter Audrey Hale.
The video reveals the swift efforts of Metro Nashville officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo in stopping Hale's reign of terror during Monday's shooting at The Covenant School.
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Officer Engelbert is seen grabbing a large rifle-style firearm from the trunk of his police cruiser as a school official directs him to where transgender shooter Hale is located in the building.
Engelbert is then heard screaming at officers on the scene: "Give me three, Let's get three," and he proceeds to open the school doors, yelling again: "Let's go, I need three."
The footage shows the nail-biting moment Engelbert and several officers are seen clearing the first-floor offices and classrooms before hearing gunshots coming from the second floor.
"It's upstairs. It sounds like it's upstairs," Engelbert says as he jolts up a flight of stairs, and multiple rounds are heard being fired in the background.
More on the Covenant School shooting
Engelbert walks into a hallway area on the second floor, where he encounters Hale firing shots out of a second-story window.
The officer lets off five shots from his rifle as Hale falls.
A second video from officer Collazo's body camera shows how he also fired five shots from his handgun after Hale continued to move.
"Watch out, watch out," Collazo says as he fires several more times at close range: "Stop moving! Stop moving!"
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“Get your hands away from the gun,” an officer yells twice.
The shooter is shown motionless on the floor as Collazo communicates through the radio: "Suspect down, suspect down."
HORROR AT THE COVENANT SCHOOL
Surveillance footage from the school showed the chilling moment Hale, 28, who was born female but identified as male, arrived at the private academy's parking lot in a Honda Fit.
Hale, a former student at The Covenant School, is seen heavily armed with two assault rifles and a nine-millimeter pistol as he blasts through two glass doors to get inside.
Dressed in a white T-shirt, camo pants, sneakers, and a red baseball cap, the suspect is seen storming the elementary school halls, aiming the long rifle every so often.
Hale shot and killed six people, including three children and three staff members.
Students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all nine years old, died in the horrific rampage.
Hallie was the daughter of pastor Chad Scruggs.
The adult victims were identified as Cynthia Peak, 61, Mike Hill, 61, and school head Katherine Koonce, 60.
Investigators have said Peak was a substitute teacher and Hill was a custodian.
BARRAGE OF BULLETS
Before being killed by police, Hale shot at arriving officers from a second-story window.
Photos show broken glass where the shooter opened fire, along with large bullet holes in the windshield of a police vehicle.
The Metro Nashville Police Department shared pictures of the weapons used by Hale, stating that the suspect also had "significant ammunition."
At least two of Hale's guns were bought legally in the area, police said.
A search warrant executed at Hale’s home led to the seizure of a sawed-off shotgun, a second shotgun, and other evidence.
Police said that writings recovered from Hale showed that the attack was "calculated and planned."
DISTURBING EVIDENCE
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said in a press conference on Monday afternoon that a manifesto was found.
"We have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this date, the actual incident," Drake said.
Hale reportedly drew a detailed map of the school, including several entry points, and even did surveillance in the area.
The police chief said: "We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place."
He added that another location was mentioned in Hale's maps and manifesto, however, the shooter ruled out the second target because it had "too much security."
Police first identified Hale as a woman. Nashville's police chief later said at a press conference Hale was transgender.
Police spokesman Don Aaron told : "Audrey Hale is a biological woman who, on a social media profile, used male pronouns."
A statement from Covenant School said the community is "heartbroken."
It said: "We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our school and church.
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"We are focused on loving our students, our families, our faculty and staff, and beginning the process of healing.
"Law enforcement is conducting its investigation, and while we understand there is a lot of interest and there will be a lot of discussion about and speculation surrounding what happened, we will continue to prioritize the well-being of our community."
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