cnn
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A student was killed and another student was injured in a shooting that occurred Wednesday morning at Antioch High School in Nashville, according to a police spokesperson.
Josselin Corea Escalante, 16, was killed when a 17-year-old student armed with a gun fired multiple shots in the high school cafeteria at 11:09 a.m. local time, according to Metropolitan Nashville Police.
Authorities identified the shooter as Solomon Henderson, who committed suicide after shooting his companions, according to police.
A male student suffered what was described as a superficial wound to his arm, was treated and released, police said. Another male student suffered a facial injury, but was not shot. Police did not identify the victims.
A spokesperson for Vanderbilt University Medical Center referred questions to police.
It is unclear whether the shooting victims were directly attacked by Henderson or were hit by random gunfire.
“The investigation to this point did not establish a connection between Henderson and the two shooting victims,” Metropolitan Nashville Police said in a statement. “It may be that they were hit by their random shots in the cafeteria.” Nashville Police are looking for a motive as they investigate.
“Homicide Unit detectives along with fellow officers in the MNPD and federal and state agencies are examining very concerning online writings and social media posts connected to Solomon Henderson, 17, as they work to establish the motive behind of Henderson being shot this morning in the Antioch High School cafeteria,” the department said.
The attack was partially broadcast live on Kick, according to a statement released by the Australian streaming platform on Wednesday. The company added that the account and video were “quickly banned.”
“Violence has no place in Kick. “We are actively working with law enforcement and taking all appropriate measures to support their investigation.”
Kick launched in 2022 and was founded by a group of entrepreneurs, including Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven, co-founders of online gaming platform Stake.com. According to its website, the platform has amassed more than half a million content creators and aims to “empower those who make the platform,” the site says.
Among other things, Kick is known for attracting some content creators banned on other platforms, such as the video game streaming platform Twitch. In its community guidelines, Kick says it encourages creators “to express themselves freely and produce outstanding content suitable for a thoughtful and mature audience,” referring to people 18 and older. “At Kick – says the platform itself –, we value the importance of constructive dialogue over the impulsive reactions that are often associated with ‘cancel culture’. Still, we also firmly recognize that freedom of expression should not be a shield for hate speech.”
Wednesday’s tragedy was the first school shooting to occur in the US this year, according to the parameters of CNN’s school shooting database. There were 83 incidents in 2024, the most of any year CNN has tracked.
After the shooting, a SWAT team cleared the school building, police spokesman Don Aaron said at a news conference.
The director of Metro Nashville Public Schools, the Antioch High School district, said it was “a heartbreaking day” for the school community.
“My heart goes out to the families of our students as they face an unimaginable loss. “I want to thank the school staff who quickly and heroically followed emergency protocols, potentially preventing further damage, as well as the Nashville Police Department and the Nashville Fire Department for their quick and urgent response,” said Adrienne. Battle in a statement.
The district said it was making counselors available to students. The school will remain closed for the rest of the week, the district said.
“Antioch families, MNPS social workers and guidance counselors will be available to support you and your students,” the school district said.
Antioch High School serves approximately 2,000 students in grades 9 through 12, according to its website. The institute is located in the Antioch neighborhood of Nashville, about 10 miles southeast of downtown.
“They were not in the vicinity of the cafeteria… When the student resource agents got there, the shooting had stopped and the shooter had committed suicide,” he explained.
Two student resource officers, known as SROs, were at the school at the time of the shooting, but the incident was over by the time they arrived at the scene, Aaron said.
The Nashville Fire Department, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Homeland Security and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded.
Tennessee Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones, whose district includes parts of Nashville and was a vocal advocate for new gun control laws after the shooting deaths of three students and three adults at The Covenant School in Nashville in March 2023 , said Wednesday that no child should be afraid “because of the omnipresent threat of gun violence.”
“The fear reverberating today in the communities of Antioch and Nashville is a chilling reminder of the human cost of political inaction and the senseless tragedy of gun violence perpetuated by leaders who prioritized firearms and the benefits of arms industry over the lives of our students,” Jones said.
Jones was one of two Black lawmakers expelled and quickly reinstated after calling for gun control reform in the House of Representatives in 2023.
Antioch senior Brandi Lemons was about to get in line to buy lunch in the cafeteria when she suddenly heard a loud “pop,” she said.
The students in line turned to see what it was about. Then, three more loud bangs sounded.
“Everyone started running and I ran to the left side of the cafeteria,” Lemons explained to CNN.
They all tried to climb up a milk counter to get to the back door of the cafe and escape, he said. Some students had difficulty climbing up the counter, so Brandi tried to help them.
“Honestly, I decided to help people before myself because I know that if I was the one struggling to get out, I would want someone to help me,” she said. “Some got stuck, like their shoe was getting stuck.”
Suddenly, the shooter appeared around the corner where Lemons and the others were hiding, he said. She did not know the shooter, she said. “When I realized he had seen the rest of us still on the corner, I thought that was it,” Lemons said through tears. “I thought he was going for us too.”
But instead, the shooter committed suicide.
Shortly after, Lemons climbed onto the counter with the other students and ran away.
“I’m shocked,” she told CNN.
Josselin Corea Escalante’s father is beyond devastated by the loss, he told CNN affiliate WTVF. He described his daughter as a kind and loving person who always got good grades and enjoyed playing soccer.
Even though she was an older sister, Josselin was still a daddy’s girl, German Corea told WTVF.
“Every day I told her how much I loved her,” Corea explained in Spanish.
When he sent her to school this Wednesday, he never imagined she wouldn’t come home, Corea said.
“It’s not fair,” he said.
Josselin’s aunt, Maria Corea, said the family is at a loss for words.
“My God. “She was my girl,” he told WTVF. “She was a very calm girl and well-behaved. He got good grades at school. She was a girl who loved her parents and her entire family.”
The Antioch community held a vigil in Josselin’s memory Wednesday night, WTVF reported.
This article has been updated with additional information.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article used the wrong term to refer to the student who suffered a graze wound. It is a male, as reported by the Police in an update.
