Nashville shooting: Garland says hate crime prosecution is premature since motive unknown

Republican lawmakers, during a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting, asked Attorney General Merrick Garland if the Justice Department plans to open a hate crime investigation into the Christian private school shooting. The shooting left six people dead.

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) asked Attorney General Garland if the Justice Department is planning to conduct a hate crime investigation “for the targeting of Christians,” as his shooter might have had collaborators. Garland stated that the FBI, as well as other law enforcement agencies, are currently investigating the shooting, and at this point, a motive hasn’t been identified. Therefore, he believes it is premature to investigate it as a hate crime.

The Nashville shooter, Audrey Hale, was a 28-year-old transgender man and former student at the school. The police believe that Hale held resentment towards the school, which may have motivated the attack. The motive for the shooting is not established, and the investigation is still ongoing.

Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) believes families of the victims of the shooting should get full disclosure on what happened and why. During the hearing, he asked if the Justice Department would determine if the attack constitutes a hate crime or domestic terrorism if the evidence shows that the killer’s motives were political or ideological. Garland responded by clarifying that he would investigate if there is a bias on the basis of the religion or the political ideology of the victims, which is a hate crime.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) wrote a message to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI director Christopher Wray calling on agencies to investigate the attack as a hate crime. This was prompted by the latest incident that resulted in the killing of three children and three adults in the Christian private school.