A 17-year old African American male student of Antioch High School is suspected of opening fire inside the school’s cafeteria on Wednesday, striking two students before turning the gun on himself, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) announced.
Don Aaron, director of the MNPD’s Media Relations Office, confirmed to reporters just after 1:00 p.m. that MNPD first received a call at 11:11 a.m. Wednesday regarding shots fired inside Antioch High School.
Two female students were struck by the suspected shooter’s gunfire, one of which was pronounced deceased at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville and another who was grazed in the arm and remains in stable condition, Aaron confirmed.
Another student, a male, sustained an injury to the face during the incident and was not struck by gunfire.
Aaron, noting how the shooting occurred in the cafeteria, said two school resource officers were inside the school at the time of the shooting, however, were not in the vicinity of the cafeteria as shots were fired.
The suspected shooter, now deceased, turned the gun on himself before school resource officers arrived at the cafeteria, Aaron said.
MNPD has since confirmed the scene has been cleared and a threat is no longer active.
A reunification site for parents of students who attend the school has been established at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital located at the intersection of Hobson Pike and Murfreesboro Pike (3754 Murfreesboro Pike) in Antioch.
Buses will be transporting students to the reunification site as they are released from the scene by MNPD, Metro Nashville Schools said.
Parents needing information regarding reunification can call 615-401-1712, MNPD said.
“We ask that parents go to the reunification site at Ascension Saint Thomas. Please do not come to Antioch High School. Thank you,’ Metro Schools said.
“MNPS social workers and guidance counselors will be available to support you and your student at the Family Assistance Center at St. Thomas,” Metro Schools added.
“The President and his team are monitoring the news out of Nashville,” White House pool reporter Emily Goodin wrote in an update sent to media. “As details unfold, the White House offers its heartfelt thoughts and prayers to those impacted by this senseless tragedy and thank the brave first responders responding to the incident.”
Antioch High School, as of 2024, had a total enrollment of 2,131 students. The school’s minority student enrollment is 85 percent, according to data provided by the Tennessee Department of Education.
The school’s overall letter grade determined by the Department of Education’s State Report Card is a D rating.
A student who was inside the cafeteria at the time of the shooting told WSMV reporter Brendan Tierney at the scene that he felt like a shooting would happen at the school eventually, citing frequent fights among students and students bringing guns and drugs into the school.
“This school has a lot of problems. I felt like something like this would happen. I just didn’t know when. On the first day I got into this school, I felt like it was going to become a problem as many fights there were, and the guns. People have been caught with guns in their backpacks and I feel like it was going to happen one day,” the student said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
