Murrow Awards 2023: Continuing Coverage

Six people were killed, including 3 children, when a former student opened fire inside the Covenant School in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood on March 27, 2023. City police fatally shot the assailant.

The deadly attack caused grief, spurred troubling questions, and set in motion many ripple effects — for schools, for policymakers, and for elected officials.

WPLN News has published and aired more than five dozen stories, including a cascade of incremental updates in the immediate aftermath, layered reports about difficult nuances, and multiple community discussion segments on our daily show This Is Nashville.

What follows is a curated representation of our journalism, and a selection of audio excerpts and news reports can be heard by pressing the play button above.

Understanding the impact

‘She was just a dynamo’: Longtime friend remembers Covenant School leader for mentorship and student empowerment

Remembering the six victims of the Covenant School shooting

Police in schools, building security are top concerns in the first of three meetings on gun violence after the Covenant shooting

MNPD ends investigation into leaked Covenant shooting documents — with no answers

Explanatory journalism

How Tennessee became one of the most gun-friendly states before the Covenant School shooting

Timeline: Covenant School shooting and Nashville police response

After Covenant, Lee calls for expanding a gun dispossession system already failing domestic violence victims

Gun violence is mobilizing members of Nashville’s music scene, but not equally

Students may be struggling with longterm mental health effects of the Covenant shooting. Here’s how parents can help.

Child autopsy bill spurs debate pitting privacy against transparency

Community conversations (This Is Nashville)

Community responds to the Covenant School shooting

How Nashville’s youth are responding to the Covenant School shooting

The evolution of gun laws and the gun control movement in Middle Tennessee

How Nashville’s Christian communities are responding to the Covenant School shooting

Is arming teachers a solution?

Political ramifications

As thousands of students flock to the capitol demanding gun control, Republican leaders remain skeptical of red flag laws

Black leaders call out hypocrisy and racism after vote to expel Jones and Pearson from Tennessee House

Gov. Bill Lee signs law to fund school security. Activists say it doesn’t address the root of the problem.

Covenant parents create nonprofits to protect children from gun violence. They’re also advocating for Tennessee gun reforms.

Listen: Special session Day 3 updates from This Is Nashville