ANTIOCH, Tenn. (WKRN) — The 17-year-old who opened fire inside the cafeteria of Antioch High School Wednesday morning has been identified as Solomon Henderson, who was also a student at the school.
According to Chief John Drake of the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), Henderson arrived at the school on a bus and is believed to have gone into the restroom and retrieved a pistol.
Henderson reportedly confronted a female student before he opened fire inside the cafeteria, resulting in the death of 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante.
The MNPD said Henderson then shot himself in the head and was fatally wounded.
Officials said a male student sustained a graze wound to the arm but was treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and released. Another male student was reportedly brought to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with a facial injury that wasn’t from a gunshot.
During a Wednesday morning press conference, Drake said there may have been at least one “prior incident” involving Henderson at the school, but specified he was unsure of the details.
One student told News 2 Henderson was a “smart person,” adding that he was at the “top of the class,” and was “quiet.”
“We were in ROTC together, this year too and he was always top of the class always doing his work,” she added. “To know that he did stuff about that, and he planned to do it, you just don’t know how anyone really is.”
Shortly after the MNPD revealed his identity, News 2 started digging into his online presence. According to ABC News, a detailed analysis conducted by the consultant firm “SITE Intelligence” which tracks extremists online, showed “the suspected shooter praised mass shooters and showed an affinity for extremist views.”
“I knew him personally. He was in my class and I didn’t think he was anything like that. I just thought he was a sweet quiet person, but he wasn’t,” one Antioch High School student said.
Speculations circulated online about the partial livestream of the attack on the platform “KICK.” The company addressed the attack in a social media post, stating they have “rapidly banned the account” and “removed the video.”
“If you see something, say something, we believe there’s some materials out there, that maybe they were seen, and if someone said something, maybe more could have been done,” said Chief John Drake.
The MNPD removed boxes of material from the shooter’s last known address late Wednesday. Investigators were seen carrying boxes of evidence as authorities continued to try and figure out what led up to this deadly shooting.
No additional details about the contents of the boxes were immediately released.