By Redaccion
Redaccion@latinocc.com
A 16-year-old female student was fatally shot, and another student was injured in a shooting at Antioch High School in Nashville on Wednesday, according to police.
The 17-year-old shooter, identified as Solomon Henderson, was also a student at the school. After opening fire in the school cafeteria, he turned the gun on himself, Metro Nashville Police spokesperson Don Aaron said during a press conference.
Police Chief John Drake stated that Henderson “confronted” the victim, identified as Josselin Corea Escalante, in the cafeteria before shooting her. Authorities are investigating the motive and whether the victims were specifically targeted.
A male student sustained a grazing gunshot wound, was treated, and later released from the hospital, Drake added. Another student was hospitalized with a facial injury caused by a fall during the incident, Aaron said.
School Resource rOfficers on Site
Two school resource officers were present in the building when the shooting occurred at approximately 11 a.m. CDT. However, they were not near the cafeteria at the time of the incident. By the time they arrived, the shooting had ended, and the gunman had already taken his own life, Aaron confirmed.
Antioch High School, which enrolls around 2,000 students, is located about 10 miles southeast of downtown Nashville in the Antioch neighborhood.
Parents and Students Reunite Amid Shock
At a nearby family safety center, officials worked to reunite anxious parents with their children.
Dajuan Bernard, whose son is a 10th grader at the school, waited at a nearby gas station for news. Bernard first heard about the shooting from his son, who called him shortly after the gunfire erupted.
“He was a little startled,” Bernard said, noting that his son had been upstairs, away from the cafeteria, but still heard the shots. “He was OK and let me know that everything was fine.”
Reflecting on the tragedy, Bernard added, “This world is so crazy; it could happen anywhere. We’ve got to protect the kids and raise them right to prevent this from happening. That’s the hardest part.”
Fonda Abner, whose granddaughter attends the school, said Antioch High does not have metal detectors to prevent weapons from being brought onto campus. She initially dismissed her granddaughter’s calls as accidental, hearing only commotion in the background, but they eventually spoke briefly before being cut off.
“It’s nerve-wracking waiting out here,” Abner said as she stood outside the school.
School Safety Measures Under Scrutiny
Adrienne Battle, superintendent of Nashville public schools, expressed condolences and acknowledged the need to strengthen school safety measures.
The district has already implemented various security enhancements, including partnerships with police, the use of weapon-detection software, shatter-resistant glass film, and security vestibules to restrict access to main buildings.
“Unfortunately, these measures were not enough to stop this tragedy,” Battle said. She noted ongoing discussions about implementing stationary metal detectors despite past concerns about their effectiveness.
“We will continue to explore emerging technologies and strategies to strengthen school safety,” Battle added.
Broader Context and Legislative Response
The Antioch High School shooting occurred nearly two years after a separate school shooting at a Nashville private elementary school, where six people, including three children, were killed. That tragedy sparked widespread calls for stricter gun control measures.
However, in Tennessee’s Republican-dominated legislature, efforts to pass gun control laws were largely rejected. Instead, lawmakers focused on increasing school security, including passing a bill last year allowing certain teachers and staff to carry concealed firearms on public school grounds without disclosing who is armed.
Antioch’s History of Gun Violence
The Antioch community has experienced other high-profile shootings in recent years. In 2017, a gunman killed one woman and injured seven others at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ. A year later, a shooter killed four people at a local Waffle House.
Wednesday’s tragedy adds to the growing concerns over gun violence and its impact on communities, with parents, students, and officials now grappling with how to move forward.
