Covenant School Shooting writings: Police unable to find source of leak
After several interviews and an internal investigation, Metro Nashville police announced Friday they were unable to identify those responsible for leaking documents connected to the Covenant School shooting.
Chief John Drake said in a media release that the department had exhausted all available investigative avenues to identify the source behind the leaked photographs, which he confirmed in the release showed pages from the Covenant shooter's journals and were taken by detectives on the scene of the school shooting March 27.
The pictures were leaked to a conservative media personality in November. They showed three pages of writings, taken from the journals.
Metro Police issued the Friday release at 5:01 p.m.
The department initially placed seven police officers on administrative assignment after the photos were released publicly on Nov. 6. Four of the officers returned to full-time duty on Nov. 17.
Metro's Friday release said investigators tried to interview a former detective who had the images at one time, but the detective declined the interview request and is no longer working in law enforcement.
Police did not name the former employee.
"The department does not have the ability to compel statements or cooperation from former employees," the release said.
During the investigation into the source of the pictures, the police department's Office of Professional Accountability determined that the three cell phone photographs were taken at The Covenant School immediately after the shooter's journals were discovered.
Two detectives assigned to the Specialized Investigations Division took them as a way to learn more about the shooter and determine whether anyone else was involved in the case, the release noted. One of the detectives took two of the pictures, while the other detective took the third, it said.
The Metro Police Department has forwarded the case to the District Attorney's office for review.
"The investigation has not identified current MNPD employees, or employees of any partner agency, as engaging in the unauthorized release of the images. Persons placed on administrative assignment for certain periods during the pendency of the investigation have returned to their regular duties," the release said.
Tennessean reporters requested several records within days of The Covenant School shooting, when the shooter, a former Covenant student, entered the school and killed six people, including three children.
Several groups, including The Tennessean, sued Metro Nashville after those records requests were denied. The school, church and Covenant families are intervening in the lawsuit and seeking to prevent the city from releasing the records.
The case is currently pending in the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The Tennessean has no plans to publish the writings verbatim and has sought to center coverage on public policy, the victims and the community.
Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville police unable to find source of Covenant shooter writings leak
