“These men are absolute heroes”: Nashville police body cam footage goes viral as officers hailed online 

Officers Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo hailed online for Nashville school shooting response (Image via Metro Nashville Police Department)
Officers Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo hailed online for Nashville school shooting response (Image via Metro Nashville Police Department)

The Metro Nashville Police Department has released bodycam footage showing law enforcement officers responding to the deadly Covenant Church School shooting incident that left six people dead, including three children and three adults.

Trigger Warning: This article contains content and information related to gun violence and shooting. Reader discretion is advised.

In the video, police officers Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo can be seen heroically facing suspect Audrey Hale before taking down the shooter in a fatal encounter.

The footage opened with the officers entering the Nashville school premises in a car before being guided towards the destination by a woman standing outside the campus. The woman can be heard saying,

“The kids are all locked down, but we have two kids that we don't know where they are.”

A male staff member could then be seen handing officer Englebert the key to access the school. Reports suggest Hale was standing in front of a large window in the institution's second-floor atrium when police arrived at the scene.

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The chilling video showed determined officers looking for the shooter by frantically searching through each classroom and hallway while sirens blazed in the background. The sound of gunshots could be heard around the three-minute mark of the six-minute footage, prompting the cops to climb a staircase.

The officers can be seen reaching the second floor before spotting Hale in front of a window inside the atrium. The shooter then fired shots towards the officers but was immediately shot down in an encounter.

Officer Englebert reportedly fired the first few shots using his service rifle before officer Collazo shot Hale another four times. Shortly after, the shooter was seen lying dead on the ground before the officers approached them and took the gun away from their hand.

Officer Collazo could also be heard saying, “suspect down” in the body camera footage. As the video of the police response went viral online, several social media users praised officers Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo for their bravery and efforts. Some even dubbed them as “heroes”:

Reports suggest that officers Englebert and Collazo, along with other cops from the Nashville Police Department, took down Audrey Hale within five minutes of arriving at the Covenant School grounds. The cops reportedly responded to the incident 14 minutes after the first 911 call.

According to NewsChannel5 Nashville, Officer Michael Collazo is a nine-year MNPD veteran and Officer Rex Englebert is a four-year MNPD veteran.


Netizens praise officers Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo for Nashville school shooting response

Netizens dubbed officers Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo "heroes" over Covenant School shooting response (Image via Audrey Hale/LinkedIn and Metro Nashville Police Department)
Netizens dubbed officers Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo "heroes" over Covenant School shooting response (Image via Audrey Hale/LinkedIn and Metro Nashville Police Department)

Bodycam footage showing Metro Nashville Police Department officers Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo responding to the Covenant School shooting incident went viral online.

In the video, the cops can be seen rushing through the school premises before taking down shooting suspect Audrey Hale in a fatal encounter. In the wake of the tragic incident, several social media users took to Twitter to praise the officers for their response and bravery:

The Nashville school shooting incident took the lives of six innocent individuals. The victims were identified as Head of School Katherine Koonce (60), custodian Mike Hill (61), substitute teacher Cynthia Peak (61) and nine-year-old children Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney.

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Edited by Barsha Roy
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