A heartbreaking photo has emerged of a group of innocent young children sitting cross-legged in their Nashville classroom just hours before mass shooter Audrey Hale stormed in andunleashed hell on their school.
Pediatric surgeon Britney Grayson — who had been been invited to speak to students at The Covenant School on Monday morning about her missionary work in Kenya — shared the haunting photo on Facebook in the aftermath of the massacre.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the three 9-year-old students who were gunned down by the shooter were pictured in the photo. Three school staffers, including the headmaster, were also shot dead.
Grayson, who revealed she has previously operated on a school shooting victim, said she drove away from the private Christian school just minutes before Hale arrived and started stalking the halls for victims.
“The kids were great. We taught them about life in Kenya, some Swahili words, and what it means to be a missionary,” Grayson wrote of her time with the students.
“We drove away at 10:12am and less than 20 minutes later, at least 3 children were shot right there on the campus.”
Grayson said the horror of what unfolded — and the fact that she dodged the bloodbath — continues to haunt her.
“There are no words for this feeling. I think the normal feeling is supposed to be relief – relief that we were already gone and our lives are safe,” she said.
“But to do what I do makes me literally one of the most qualified people on the planet to help in that situation.
“Why had we driven away just minutes before? Could I have helped those children if we were still there? I feel guilty for being safe,” she said.
Cops have since released haunting surveillance footage that shows Hale brandishing two rifles and a handgun as she went on a shooting spree through the hall. Cops are referring to Hale with female pronouns, despite her being transgender.
Separate bodycam video captured two heroic cops, Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo, storming in moments later and subsequently engaging in a shootout that left Hale dead.
Hale’s 9-year-old slain victims have been identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and Williams Kinney — and custodian Mike Hill, 61, substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, and headmaster Katherine Koonce, 60, also were killed.