We're now pausing our live coverage of the day after the mass shooting at the Covenant Church School in Nashville. Here's a look back at what's happened today:

• Police released the bodycam footage of the officers who entered the school and shot the suspect
• During a press conference earlier, police said that there isn't currently any evidence any of the victims were individually targeted, the suspect bought seven guns legally and may have had training on how to use them.
• President Biden is planning a visit to Nashville and said he would "continue to call out" anyone who blocks a ban on assault-style weapons.
• The family of Michael Hill, a custodian of the school, released a statement saying the school and its students filled him with joy.

Today's coverage was bought to you by our teams in Washington, DC and London.

Gem O'Reilly
Live reporter

Some more from President Biden today, seen here speaking to journalist on the tarmac in North Carolina, where he had an event.

He again calls on Congress to pass an assault-style weapons ban.

He was asked by the media what he can do and he responded: "I can't do anything except plead with the Congress to act reasonably".

Biden also said he has spoken to different members of the Nashville community.

Gem O'Reilly
Live reporter

Republicans in Washington DC have so far rejected Biden’s calls for an assault-style weapons ban.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise cautioned not everything yet known about the Nashville shooting.

“Let's get the facts. And let's work to see if there's something that we can do to help secure schools,” he said.

“We've talked about things that we can do and it just seems like on the other side, all they want to do is take guns away from law-abiding citizens."

Others echoed the call for doing more to secure schools, including Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn.

Texas Senator John Cornyn, who helped Democrats pass a gun control bill last year, said he did not currently see a path forward for more reforms.

“I would say we’ve gone about as far as we can go unless somebody identifies some area that we didn’t address," he said, speaking about measures like background checks.

Jamie Whitehead
Live reporter

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Last year, America's National Institute of Justice released data on mass shootings across the United States over the last 50 years. Here's a quick look at some of its findings:

• People who committed a mass shooting had experienced personal trauma before opening fire. The data shows that, almost always, the shooter was in "a state of crisis at the time" and most leaked their plans beforehand.
• Half of the shootings studied happened after 2000, with over a third since 2010.
• The numbers show that most people used a handgun to commit a mass shooting (77.2%) whilst 25.1% used an assault-style rifle.
• Looking at the data, we can see that 77% of people who committed a mass shooting in America bought their at least some of their guns legally
• The database covers 172 people involved in a mass shooting. Almost 98% of them were male, with the youngest aged 11 and the oldest 70.

The Congressional Research Service defines a public mass shooting as “a multiple homicide incident in which four or more victims are murdered with firearms, not including the shooter(s)within one event, and [where] at least some of the murders occurred in a public location or locations in close geographical proximity".

You can read the full report here, external

Angelica Casas
Nashville, Tennessee

Averianna Patton is thought to be one of the last people Audrey Hale messaged before the shooting.

On Monday morning, Patton received a message on Instagram from her former classmate, who sounded depressed and desperate.

“She said that I would see her on the news later on… and something tragic was about to happen,” Ms Patton told BBC News.

Patton immediately called the local sheriff’s office. “I just jumped into the mode of trying to call around and make sure I was doing everything that I could,” she said.

The BBC was shown screenshots of the Instagram messages and phone records.

Within minutes of the first message, Hale attacked the Covenant School, killing three nine-year-old pupils and three staff members.

“I later found out that this was not a game, this was not a joke, it was [Hale] who did this,” she said. “It’s just been very, very heavy.”

Patton said that police came to her home that afternoon to review the messages from Hale.

"I’m still trying to wrap my head around what we’re going through as a city and trying to find solutions to prevent this from happening again,” she said.

The BBC’s Chelsea Bailey contributed to this post.

Image source, Averianna Patton

Here's more from President Biden addressing the Nashville shooting earlier today.

The US should "protect our children so they learn how to read and write, not duck an cover in a classroom," he said.

"Why in God's name do we allow these weapons of war in our streets and in our schools," he said.

He said he is a gun owner himself but that the Second Amendment in the US Constitution - which says the right to "keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" - "is not absolute".

The Reuters news agency is reporting that President Biden is planning on visiting the scene of the school shooting in Nashville.

It also adds that he will "continue to call out" people who are blocking a ban on assault-style weapons.

Image source, Getty Images

Tennessee legislators have been loosening gun laws in the state over the last few years.

A law passed in 2021 allows people over 21 years of age to carry loaded handguns in public, concealed or openly – without the need for a gun permit.

Upon signing the law, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said in a tweet: “I signed constitutional carry today because it shouldn’t be hard for law-abiding Tennesseans to exercise their (second amendment) rights.”

However, law enforcement agencies in the state, grappling with local gun violence, have voiced complaints.

“The current law does not mandate citizens to complete a safety or training course,” the Memphis Police Department said on its website, external. “This poses a serious safety concern for both the citizens and law enforcement.”

In the weeks before The Covenant School shooting, a new bill passed the Tennessee House of Representatives which proposes to reduce the age limit of legal gun carriers from 21 to 18.

Michael Hill was a custodian of The Covenant School and was killed in the shooting there yesterday.

His family have released a statement, which has been shared by Nashville's News Channel 5’s reporter Kelsey Gibbs.

You can read the full statement from the Hill family here , external

Alexander Lederman
Reporting from Nashville

Local residents gathered at a church down the road from the school this afternoon for a memorial service.

Congregation members cried while singing and praying, trying to reckon with the unimaginable coming to their backyards.

“The bubble has burst,” resident Laura Morris told us after the service.

She has lived in Nashville for 21 years and cherishes its sense of community — never expecting a “senseless tragedy” like this could happen here.

Laine Arnold grew up in Nashville and now has a three-year-old child of her own. She told us that she’s found solace in religion to help explain what happened to her daughter.

Both Morris and Arnold said that now is not the time for politics.

But the gun laws in the deeply red state are being debated in the wake of the tragedy.

A local Republican congressman received criticism after he and his family posed for a 2021 Christmas card with guns - criticism now renewed.

On Tuesday, President Biden called for Congress to take action on gun control.

Image source, Reuters

In the wake of the Nashville shooting, President Joe Biden has called on Congress to pass an assault-style weapons ban.

So what is it?

Last year, when the House of Representatives was controlled by Democrats, the chamber passed legislation that would ban assault-style weapons across the country for the first time since 2004. The ban covered semi-automatic firearms and those with high capacity ammunition magazines - those that can fire a large number of rounds quickly, without having to reload.

But the measure has sat untouched in the Senate ever since.

Democrats now hold a razor-thin majority in the upper chamber. But because of the filibuster - a parliamentary procedure that requires at least 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate to pass most legislation - some Republicans would have to sign off on the bill for it to pass.

Chuck Schumer, now the Senate majority leader, has said he is working on rallying those votes, but it won't be easy.

Read more about what might be next for US gun control

Nashville is reeling after a school shooting left three children and three adults dead.

Today, resident Robin Wolfeden prays in front of a makeshift memorial by the entrance of the Covenant School.

Image source, USA Today Network via Reuters

Shepherd Hollis, Katie Jo Hollis, and Sophie Hollis pray at the memorial for the fallen, where members of the community have congregated.

Image source, Reuters

And the makeshift memorial in front of the school has grown as people leave stuffed toys and signs.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking just now in Durham, North Carolina, President Joe Biden called the Nashville school shooting "absolutely heartbreaking".

"It's senseless," he said. "Those children should be with us still."

"As a nation, we owe these families more than our prayers, we owe them action."

Calling himself a "Second Amendment guy" - referring to the Constitutional right in the US to bear arms - the president asked why any American would need an "assault weapon" for personal use.

"Why in God’s name do we let these weapons of war in our streets?" he said.

And Biden again called on Congress to pass the assault weapons ban, referring to a measure that was passed by Democrats in the House last year but has so far stalled in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Moments ago, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also weighed in on the ban, saying Democrats were "working hard to get enough votes to pass it".

As we reported earlier, police in Nashville have released bodycam footage from the school shooting yesterday.

We’re not going to show you all of it. But the video above gives an idea of what happened when police went into the Covenant School and shot the suspect, who had killed six people.

Nashville - which is known as Music City - is the home to many entertainers, especially in the country music industry.

And after yesterday's shooting, many of the city's biggest stars have spoken out, sharing their grief and demanding change from lawmakers.

"No words... The [Covenant] School. Our children deserve better. Praying for all affected. Tragic America," wrote Sheryl Crow, 61, on her Instagram Story.

Country singer LeAnn Rimes also expressed her "rage and heartbreak" , externalat the tragedy.

"I can't even fathom what this is doing to the psyches of every child and parent in this country" she wrote on Twitter.

Others took the opportunity to criticise Tennesee's governor, Bill Lee, who signed a law in 2021 that allowed anyone legally allowed to own a gun to carry a concealed handgun in most public spaces without a permit.

"A school shooting just happened near my sons' school. Multiple children dead but let's make sure that the gunman had his 2nd Amendment rights," tweeted Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Fallowill.

Image source, Getty Images

Angelica Casas
Video journalist, BBC News

Image source, COVENANT SCHOOL

Robert Gay is calm and thoughtful as he speaks to me by phone about the Katherine Koonce he knew while in grade school.

Koonce, one of the victims of Monday’s shooting, was the Head of the Covenant School.

She was also a teacher at Christ Presbyterian Academy, which Gay attended from 2000-2006. He and his brother were good friends with Koonce’s son, David.

“She always made her students feel that they were loved by a God who cared about them personally and that it was our job to show that love to each other as fellow people,” Gay said.

“She was so engaged with all the students.”

The school community was tight-knit, with less than 150 students enrolled there at the time. Gay says everyone knew everyone.

“She helped identify the best ways for students to learn,” he said. “She could speak really carefully in a way that would encourage students to see the best in them and to grow.”

“That encouragement is one of the biggest things I remember about her along with an incredible intelligence. Students walked away feeling empowered and maybe smarter than before she came into the room.”

Koonce was 61.

That's the end of the news conference from the Nashville police but we'll continue to digest what has been said and bring you the latest updates here.

Image source, Reuters

Speaking to the media just now, Nashville police chief John Drake says authorities believe suspect Audrey Hale had "training" based on the shooter's behaviour during Monday's attack.

"The suspect was on an upper level, we believe there has been some training to have been able to shoot from a higher level," Drake says. "From the video I've seen she stood away from the glass so she wouldn't be an easy target to be shot."

Audrey Hale was ultimately killed after being shot by officers.

Continuing with the press conference, Nashville police chief John Drake says police had no reason to remove the suspect's weapons.

Tennessee does not currently have a so-called "red flag law" that permits officials to remove guns from the possession of people they believe may present a danger to others or themselves.

Drake said if police had been made aware the suspect presented such a danger, they would have sought to do so.

"There's not a law for that," he said, but added that if it "had been made known to us then we would have tried to get those weapons".

But “we had absolutely no idea” the suspect posed any danger - the suspect was not on the police radar in any way before Monday, he said.

"We do not have a motive at this time," says Nashville police chief John Drake just now.

Drake says again that no particular individuals were targeted by Hale upon entering the school.