In July 2021, the state of Tennessee passed a law that allowed ownership of both concealed and unconcealed guns without any permit. The state has some of the laxest gun laws when compared to other states in the U.S.

Tennessee’s constitution allows people to carry guns for self-defence but also enables the government to regulate their usage to prevent crime. Tennessee also has no provision for background checks or safety tests for gun owners. Citizens aged 19 and 20 can carry permitless guns within the state. 

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Keeping this in mind, here are 5 of the deadliest mass shootings in Tennessee over the years. 

Covenant School Shooting

This is the most recent incident on the list, taking place on 27th March 2023 at the Covenant School in Nashville. On the day, 28-year-old former student Audrey Elizabeth Hale, also a resident of the area, entered the school bearing a handgun and two rifles. Hale then proceeded to shoot 3 first-graders and 3 other staff members. 5 victims were pronounced dead at the hospital, while 1 was dead at the scene. Further investigation showed that Hale had elaborate maps of the school and also a manifesto. 

 Chattanooga Shooting (2022) 

The Chattanooga mass shooting on 5th June 2022 severely wounded 14 people and killed 3. The shooting took place near a nightclub late at night. While 14 people were injured from the gunfire, 2 out of 3 people fleeing the scene were wounded, while 1 was killed. The shooting was considered to be targeted and comprised of multiple shooters. The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of 3 men- Garrian Dwayne King, Alexis Boynton Lewis, and Rodney Junior Harris Jr. who were caught on CCTV footage driving a stolen car around 2 A.M., right before the shooting. 

Knoxville Unitarian Universalist Church Shooting 

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The Unitarian Universalist Church shooting at Knoxville occurred on 27th July 2008. Jim David Adkinson was an unemployed man who carried out the shooting. During the church youth performance, he opened fire at the congregation, killing 2 and wounding 6 others. The other church members finally restrained him. Adkinson’s manifesto was discovered in his car, where he expressed his hatred for homosexuals, Democrats, African-Americans, and liberals. Although initially, he had planned to die by suicide by cop, that plan failed. Subsequently, he was arrested and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Nashville Waffle House Shooting

On 22nd April 2018, in the Antioch neighbourhood of Nashville, a gunman wielding an AR-15 rifle shot and killed 4 people and injured 2 others. He was later identified as 29-year-old Tavis Jeffrey Reinking. The shooting stopped when a man wrestled Travis to the ground and took his rifle away. Travis fled the scene, leading the police into a 34-hour manhunt when he was finally captured. Initially, Travis was considered unfit to stand trial due to his diagnosed schizophrenia. As a result, he was deemed incompetent to stand trial and admitted to a mental institution. The decision changed 4 years later when Travis was again sent on trial—this time, he was found guilty of 4 counts of first-degree murder. 

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Burnette Chapel Shooting 

9 years after the Universalist Church shooting, Tennessee witnessed another such shooting at the Burnetts Chapel Church in Antioch, Tennessee. The shooting occurred on 24th September 2017 when a gunman named Emanuel Kidega Samson opened fire at the church, killing 1 person and severely injuring 6 others. A 25-year-old Sudan native, Samson confessed that the motivation behind his shooting rampage was the Charleston Church shooting in South Carolina two years earlier in which 9 African Americans were killed. Charleston had allegedly planned to shoot 10 white people during the incident.