Antioch Students Recount Their Experiences Following Deadly School Shooting

Recounting what she remembers from the day, a female student, who was in the same class as the shooter and said she had spoken to him a few times before, shared how, initially nothing seemed amiss. When the bell rang for lunch at 11:05 a.m., she and her sister made their way out of class to get food, as usual.

Things remained normal as the two young ladies went about their day. “Out of nowhere, I just hear gunshots and I'm five feet away […] I see the lights and everything. I'm just like, ‘What?' And we just all take off running,” revealed the student.

In the chaos, she and her sister got split up. Nevertheless, the student kept running all the way back to her classroom where she found her teacher, who she said had no idea of the chilling events taking place.

The young lady then explained how she urged her teacher to lock the door, alerting the educator that they needed to find somewhere safe. Unbeknownst to the student at that moment, was the fact that the shooter was one of her classmates.

Speaking to a WSMV 4 Nashville reporter, another student divulged, “When they came in, they had the lights on and like, I was terrified. I thought I was gonna die 'cause I thought it was the shooter […] I thought it was the last time I was gonna be alive.”

In a different interview, a freshman described how frightening the situation was, even more so because she and her fellow classmates' teacher was not present. In place of their educator was a substitute teacher who the freshman said didn't know what to do and did not lock the classroom door.

The student also mentioned how other teachers attempted to help but were ultimately unable to do so. She then noted how students were getting rowdy and not treating the incident with the seriousness it required.

“I heard the shots, I didn't know what to do so, I just called my mom. I really don't know what to really say 'cause I didn't think I'll ever be in this situation before,” noted the young lady, who said she had always heard and been fearful of the occurrence of school shootings.

After a reporter asked the student if she has been impacted by the news concerning the death of two of her peers, she responded, “Yeah, 'cause you really can't trust no one for real, and it's the fact that he had the gun in the school building, it just makes me feel like, I don't know, I can't really trust anyone. So it's like, I'm just scared, I really don't know.”

Regarding how she feels about returning to school, the young lady shared how she will probably feel uneasy and nervous. She also highlighted how good it felt to be able to see and embrace her mom in the aftermath, acknowledging the parents and other students who were not as lucky.

A 12th grader who was in the school cafeteria when the shots started to go off and bore witness to the shooter's actions, spoke about how he had tried to help people. However, he disclosed, “My mind was so cluttered, and like, I didn't know what to do.”

Speaking about how he felt to be reunited with his mother after the madness, the young man divulged, “I feel relieved and I feel safe, but I feel bad for the victims who lost their lives.”

The student also recounted the chaotic scene surrounding him, noting how many students were screaming, running, crying, and fearing for their lives. “He was a monster, just killing people,” added the 12th grader.

Although the young man confirmed that there are usually security personnel around the school, he did not see them near the cafeteria when the shooting happened. Additionally, he said that Antioch High School used to have metal detectors, but they were taken away.

On the same day that the tragedy ensued, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) released information revealing the identity of the shooter via a statement shared on X.

A 17-year-old Antioch student named Solomon Henderson was identified as the suspect, who took his own life after fatally shooting a 16-year-old female student named Josselin Corea Escalante.

In a media release, the MNPD also disclosed how they along with homicide detectives and federal/state agencies are in the process of examining social media posts and online writings in connection with Henderson, as they investigate the motive behind his actions.

Aside from Escalante, a 17-year-old male student was grazed in the arm by a bullet. He received care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and has since been released.

According to the MNPD, “The investigation to this point has not established a connection between Henderson and the two shooting victims. It may be that they were struck by his random gunfire in the cafeteria.”

The department also clarified that the two school resource officers assigned to Antioch were at a different location away from the cafeteria and only made it there after Henderson killed himself.

In addition to pointing out that they will not be addressing questions concerning prior police interaction with Henderson because of Tennessee juvenile protection laws, the MNPD expressed their most heartfelt condolences to the students of Antioch, parents, and staff.

“Our officers and counselors will work to be part of the healing process in the days and weeks ahead,” mentioned the department.

Although the MNPD is not at liberty to divulge details about Henderson outside of what they have already disclosed, another student shared what she knew about him during a news interview. “He was like, a smart person, top of the class, quiet, to hisself [sic], mostly,” asserted the young lady.

She revealed how she would talk to him on a few occasions, engaging in light-hearted chatter, such as asking him about his day. As one of the aforementioned students said, the young woman also spoke about how initially, students didn't take the incident seriously.

Another student, who joined the interview, spoke about what it was like to see the social media posts being made about the shooting.

“It felt very like, unreal to see people laying in the cafeteria and like, people recording and hearing the gunshots and everything like that, it was just weird, in my opinion. And people making jokes about it, it was also kinda weird,” stated the young man.

When the female student was asked if she has any idea why Solomon Henderson would do what he did, she replied, “Um, honestly, it's either, he got stuff going on at home or just bullying, period. I don't really know.”

However, she also said that from what she saw of Henderson's social media posts about the incident, it isn't far-fetched to believe him being capable of what he did.