Antioch High School shooting: One dead and one injured after teen shooter opens fire in Nashville

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A 17-year-old gunman opened fire inside a Nashville high school cafeteria, killing one student and injuring another in the latest school shooting to plague America.

Josselin Corea Escalante, 16, was killed in the incident at Antioch High School.

The tragedy unraveled around 11 a.m. Wednesday, when the 17-year-old went to the bathroom to grab a pistol before making his way to the school’s cafeteria, where he “confronted” Escalante. The armed student then fired “multiple rounds,” striking and killing his classmate, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said at an afternoon press conference.

Panic and screams erupted in the 2,000-student school.

Two other students were injured amid the chaos. One student was taken to the hospital after suffering a “graze wound” to the arm; he has been treated and released, Drake said. A third student suffered a facial injury, which was not a gunshot wound, police said. This student fell in the incident, officials said.

The teen shooter turned the gun on themself, authorities said. His identity has not yet been released.

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It’s not immediately clear if the shooting was targeted, Drake said. Authorities are investigating the motive, Drake said, noting that police are looking into “materials on the internet” as part of the probe.

Hours after the incident, the school, which had been on lockdown in the morning, had been cleared and authorities said there was no longer a danger at the school.

In the wake of the incident, a mother of an Antioch High School student said she’s apprehensive to send her child back to school, telling WSMV 4: “You should be sending your kids to school so they can get an education and not have to worry if they’ll get a bullet in them.” Rather than focusing on taking away phones, the school needs to take away guns, she added.

The president and his team are monitoring the news out of Nashville, a White House official told The Independent, adding that the White House offers it’s thoughts and prayers to those impacted by the tragedy.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said he has been briefed on the incident. He praised the swift efforts of first responders and offered his condolences to victims and their families in a post on X: “As we await more information, I join Tennesseans in praying for the victims, their families & the school community.”

Just three weeks into the new year, there have already been 10 school shootings, according to K-12 School Shooting Database.

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In 2024, there were 205 incidents of gunfire on school grounds across the U.S., the most incidents in one year in the 11-year period tracked by Everytown.

In mid-December, a 15-year-old girl opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School, a private K-12 school in Madison, Wisconsin, killing a student and a teacher. The shooter also died in the incident due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Months earlier, in September, two students and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia. The 14-year-old suspected shooter has been indicted on 55 counts, including four counts of felony and malice murder, while his father, Colin Gray, was indicted on 29 counts, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Wednesday’s shooting in Nashville occurred almost two years after the Covenant School mass shooting that devastated the city in 2023. A former student fatally shot six victims, including students and staff.