School Shootings and Gun Violence

The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that most writings left by the shooter who killed six people at Nashville’s Covenant School in 2023 are subject to the state’s Public Records Act and may be made available for public inspection. The panel overturned key parts of a 2024 lower‑court decision that had kept the journals, suicide note and memoir sealed under a broad 'school safety' exemption and a novel interpretation of federal copyright law, calling the trial court’s view that every document related to school security a 'strain[ on] credulity.' The judges held that even if some documents are protected by copyright, Metro Nashville Police can still allow inspection without violating copyright law, distinguishing between viewing records and reproducing or publicly displaying them. The case now returns to the lower court to amend its order, and Covenant parents—who acquired copyright from the shooter’s parents and have argued release would traumatize survivors and fuel copycats—have 60 days to decide whether to appeal further while police investigative files remain sealed. The ruling, coming after partial leaks and separate FBI disclosures, is expected to set an important precedent for how courts balance public transparency, victims’ concerns and school‑safety exceptions when dealing with records from mass school shootings.