Police in the southern US state of Tennessee said the man who killed three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school on Monday had gathered information before the attack. President Joe Biden again urged Congress to pass legislation to ban assault weapons.
Police in the city of Nashville released video from the school that shows the gunman opening fire on a glass door and walking down hallways with a semi-automatic weapon.
The motive for the attack on the school by the person, whom the police say was a student at this school, is not yet known. Nashville's police chief told reporters Monday night that the attacker, who was killed by police, had drawn a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points.
"We have a manifesto. We also have some writings, which we are reviewing, that relate to the actual incident. We have a sketched map of how the attack would take place. Right now there is a theory that we can talk about later, but it's not confirmed, so we'll do that as soon as we can," said Nashville Police Chief John Drake.
Police say the killer was armed with at least two semi-automatic weapons and a handgun.
Calling the killing a family's worst nightmare, President Joe Biden again urged Congress to pass legislation banning assault weapons.
"We must do more to stop gun violence. It's tearing our communities apart, it's tearing the soul of this nation apart. We must do more to protect our schools so they don't turn into prisons." in this case, there were reportedly two AK-47s and a handgun. So I'm calling on Congress again to pass the assault weapons ban," he said.
First lady Jill Biden also spoke out on Monday, telling a National League of Cities conference in Washington that "our kids don't deserve this."
Nashville Mayor John Cooper offered his condolences to the families of the victims, adding that "the entire city stands with them."
Last year, a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, left 21 people dead./ VOA