Judge considers whether to release Tennessee shooter’s manifesto

A Tennessee judge on Wednesday considered whether to allow the parents of students at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn., to testify against a request to publish the manifesto of a school shooter. The attacker shot and killed three children and three adults at the school on March 27 before police shot and killed her. The National Police Association, journalists, and other groups filed lawsuits against the Metro Nashville Police Department after the department denied open records requests to release the shooter’s writings. A hearing in the case is scheduled for June 8.

What have other groups said about releasing the documents? Parents of students at the school last week asked the judge to hear their testimony before deciding whether to make the manifesto public. They said releasing the documents could lead to “copycat attacks.” More than 60 Republican Tennessee House representatives last week signed a letter calling for the police department to release the documents.

Dig deeper: Read Kim Henderson’s report in WORLD Magazine about how Christians in Nashville continue to wrestle with hard truths after the shooting.