MNPD Concludes Covenant School Mass Murder Investigation

After two years of meticulous detective work, including analysis and review of thousands of pages of potential evidence, Chief John Drake today announces the closure of the investigation into the March 27, 2023, murders at The Covenant School in which three children and three adults were killed in a planned, calculated attack.

The murders are being cleared by exception due to death of the offender, Audrey Hale, who was fatally shot inside the Covenant building by responding MNPD officers.

The police department today, contemporaneous with this statement, is releasing a 48-page report that details the course of the investigation and the conclusions. Importantly, the District Attorney’s Office, which has been regularly kept informed of this investigation over the past two years, has reviewed the report and has determined that no criminal charges will be placed against anyone in connection with the Covenant case.

The case report being released today answers several significant questions about Hale and this case, including:

#1: What was the motive?

Answer: Notoriety

• Left material behind intentionally to be found and analyzed
• Wanted material to be publicly released and commented upon
• Wanted books, documentaries, movies to be made about her life and her attack
• Wanted her firearms to be placed in a museum; wanted her bedroom to be left as it was when the attack occurred as a memorial to her
• Wanted to mentor other shooters to show how they could succeed with proper planning
• Wanted to show off her superiority to others

#2: Was she sane?

Answer: Yes

#3: Was there anyone who provided her with material support or assistance knowing that an attack would take place?

Answer: No

#4: Is there anyone else responsible?

Answer: No

The Covenant School

• No known prior interaction between the victims and Hale
• Hale bore no grudge against the school or staff. Considered them as “innocents” and victims on par with herself
• Location was targeted due to the notoriety she would obtain and considered it a soft target; also because she had a personal connection to the school from earlier in her life and felt she had to die somewhere that made her happy

Firearms Retailers

Conducted all necessary background checks prior to selling her firearms

Background checks only cover criminal history

Parents

Assisted her with obtaining mental healthcare despite them not being legally required to do so

Mental Health Professionals (based on available records only)

Hale chronicled that she withheld information from providers to prevent her from being stopped

A final note. Among the material Hale left behind is her detailed plan to commit carnage in a school, with timelines, diagrams, etc. It is known that Hale, and other mass shooters, studied material from Columbine High School prior to committing their attacks. Recognizing the notoriety motive previously mentioned, it is this police department’s concerted belief that Hale’s specific action plan, if ever made public, would be used by future potential mass murderers in the United States or anywhere in the world to attack and kill innocent persons, including school children.

The MNPD’s 48-page report on the The Covenant School homicide investigation