(BPR) A stunning revelation has emerged: Chad Scruggs, the father of one of the children who Nashville mass shooter Audrey Hale executed on Monday at The Covenant School, is the school’s pastor and had been providing her with private counseling.
“He was providing counseling for her, and something didn’t sit right with her,” Scruggs’ predecessor, former Covenant School pastor Jim Bachmann, told “Inside Edition.”
Listen:
In addition, Hale may have been specifically targeting Scruggs during Monday’s mass shooting.
“Former Covenant School pastor Jim Bachmann says Hale appeared to be searching for Scruggs when she went through the school. She shot Scruggs’ 9-year-old daughter dead,” “Inside Edition” reported.
Bachmann speculated that had Hale found Scruggs, then perhaps she would have left his daughter alone.
Some now wonder whether she would have left everybody else alone had she found Scruggs. Others say this new information is definitive proof that Hale’s actions are tantamount to a targeted hate crime against Christians.
Look:
Very targeted then..
— Tom Cook (@6dt4jt59m6) March 30, 2023
That is so horrible! Just maybe that was the motive.
— Daisy Urrutia (@durrutia19) March 30, 2023
There is definitely more to this story.
— DeeJay ⭐️ (@SolareCAL) March 30, 2023
Hate Crime : She didn’t want to be “fixed”. She was angry with him for counseling her. Her mental health had deteriorated. She targeted his daughter. The others just got in the way.
— StarSpangled (@FreenBraveStar) March 30, 2023
Critics also continue to ponder why Hale’s manifesto has yet to be released. Local authorities have for their part claimed they don’t want to release it during an “open investigation.”
Meanwhile, LGBT groups on both the left and the right have been calling for the manifesto to never be publicly released, ostensibly because doing so may inspire other mass shooters.
“It should not be published. The focus should be on how this was able to happen in the first place. There should not be such easy access to deadly weaponry,” Jordan Budd, the executive director of Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE) told Newsweek.
“The contents don’t change the outcome of the tragedy. Regardless of the shooter’s intentions, the real issue here is the ease of access to deadly weapons in Tennessee and elsewhere. All children, no matter who their parents are or how they identify, should feel safe and supported at school. That includes a world free from gun violence,” he added.
Charles Moran, the national president of Log Cabin Republicans, a right-wing LGBT group, appeared to agree with some of what Budd said, telling Newsweek that the release of Hale’s manifesto could trigger “serious consequences.”
“While it would certainly give insight into the motivations of this deeply troubled individual that could help shed light into root causes, we know from tragedies like this that additional glorification of the shooter could inspire others to take similar violent acts for attention,” he said.
Laura McGinnis, a spokesperson for PFLAG, reportedly the largest LGBT group in the country, also concurred, warning that releasing the manifesto could “increase the risk of contagion,” as reported by Newsweek.
‘Only one reason they want it hidden’: LGBT groups warn against releasing #Nashville shooter’s manifestohttps://t.co/BR7pxpsiAh
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) March 29, 2023
