On Monday, three children and three adults were killed when a shooter opened fire at a private Christian school in Nashville, TN. On Wednesday morning, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley called the shooting a hate crime.
"From the looks of PD in Nashville, this was targeted. It was the first thing they said, this wasn't random — it wasn't that the shooter just chose any school, she chose this school, she targeted this school," Hawley told KMOX's sister station 97.1 FM. "And listen, the federal law makes a crime any kind of violence on the basis of their religious affiliation."
Hawley said there should be a full hate crime investigation. In 2021, he was the only U.S. Senator to vote against a hate crimes package.
The Justice Department says that as of now, a motive has not been identified. So can the shooting be classified as a hate crime? KMOX Legal Analyst Brad Young told us more on Total Information AM.
Young says the shooting warrants a hate crimes investigation, just like the shootings last year in a predominantly Black area of Buffalo and the shooting at Club Q, and LGBTQ+ nightclub. But, he said, we won't know whether it's a hate crime until a motive is identified.
"Audrey Hale has left a manifesto. We don't know what's in that manifesto, but it certainly warrants inquiry to see if there was a hate crime here," Young said. "The difference though, with this compared to whether it was the Buffalo or the gay bar shooting is that in this instance, the shooter is deceased. So it takes on less of an importance because obviously a deceased person can't be charged with a crime."
Hear more from KMOX Legal Analyst Brad Young on the Nashville shooting, as well as other legal issues in St. Louis. He talked about the city's lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai, immigration lawsuits, and more:
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