Nashville school shooting – three children killed and gunman also dead

Three children have been killed after a shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee.

The gunman is dead after a confrontation with police following the attack at the Covenant School.

John Howser, from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, confirmed “three paediatric patients were transported to Monroe Carell Jr Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, all having suffered gunshot wounds”.

The three were pronounced dead after they arrived there.

The gunman died after being “engaged by” officers, police said in a Twitter post. It was not immediately clear whether the attacker was shot by police or they took their own life.

The Nashville Fire Department said on Twitter there were “multiple patients”.

Other pupils at the school walked to safety holding hands to a nearby church where they were reunited with their parents.

The Covenant School has about 200 students from pre-school to sixth grade and was founded as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in 2001, according to the school’s website.