Nashville school shooter, 17, was inspired by Hitler and Candace Owens according to 'manifesto'

24 January 2025, 02:11 | Updated: 24 January 2025, 02:12

The gunman who shot two students in a school shooting in Nashville on Wednesday was inspired by Adolf Hitler and Candace Owens, according to his alleged manifesto.

The Nashville school shooter is thought to have written a large manifesto in which he praises the work of Hitler and the Nazis, as well as American pro-Trump conservative commentator Candace Owens.

On Wednesday, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department confirmed two students were shot by another student, identified as Solomon Henderson, in the cafeteria of a high school in Tennessee.

He is accused of killing Josselin Corea Escalante, 16, and injuring another student.

The 17-year-old shooter, who was also a student at Antioch High School in Nashville, later shot and killed himself with a handgun, according to Nashville police.

Much of the ‘manifesto’ revolves around Henderson being ‘ashamed to be black’, as well as an appalling obsession with the Nazis and Hitler.

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He is also thought to have a layout of the school where he committed the shooting and the weapons he wanted to use. He was also planning to livestream the attack on social media.

According to NewsChannel 5 Nashville, Henderson wrote: "Candance Owens influenced me above all each time she spoke I was stunned by her insights and her own views helped push me further and further into the belief of violence over the Jewish question.”

Owens is a right-wing activist and has previously been accused of downplaying the Holocaust. She previously had a visa application rejected to enter Australia over her comments about Muslims, Jews and her 'capacity to invite discord'.

She responded to the reports by claiming the manifesto wasn’t authentic, and that is was “sickening that people would use the death of a young 16 year old girl to try to quickly score political points.

“Regarding the alleged “manifesto”, it is an obvious troll,” Owens posted on X.

“That is how it is plausible that both me and Mr. Beast, who clearly do not share the same politics, wind up once again in a manifesto.

“It also explains why this individual, despite his numerous accounts, never followed me or Mr. Beast on any of his socials. This is a deranged troll that is, at least in part, due to the death of journalism.”

NewsChannel 5 Nashville says he posted his final comments on 18 November, writing: "I was so miserable. I wanted to kill myself. I just couldn't take anymore. I am a worthless subhuman, a living breathing disgrace.

“All my (in real life) friends outgrew me act like they didn't f—ing know me. Being me was so f—ing humiliating. That's why I spend all day dissociating."

While police have yet to verify the authenticity of the document, many social media users shared screenshots of its pages after Henderson allegedly uploaded it to Instagram.

A police statement did confirm, however, that Henderson posted two documents online, one 51 pages in length, the other 288 pages.

The investigation into those documents and the case are ongoing.

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The school has about 2,000 students and is located in Antioch, a neighbourhood about 10 miles (16 kilometres) south-east of downtown Nashville.

At a family safety centre close to a hospital, officials were helping shocked parents to reunite with their children.

Dajuan Bernard was waiting at a Mapco service station to reunite with his son, who was being held in the auditorium with other students on Wednesday afternoon.

He first heard of the shooting from his son who "was a little startled", Mr Bernard said. His son was upstairs from the cafeteria but said he heard the gunfire.

"He was OK and let me know that everything was OK," Mr Bernard said.

"This world is so crazy, it could happen anywhere," he said.

"We've just got to protect the kids, and raise the kids right to prevent them from even doing this. That's the hardest part."

Fonda Abner, whose granddaughter is a student at the school, said Antioch High does not have metal detectors that would alert officials to the presence of a gun.

She said her granddaughter had called her a couple of times but that she only heard commotion and thought it was a pocket dial. They spoke briefly before being cut off.

"It's nerve-wracking waiting out here," Ms Abner said.

Adrienne Battle, superintendent of Nashville schools, said public schools have implemented a "range of safety measures", including partnerships with police for school resource officers, security cameras with weapon-detection software, shatter-resistant film for glass, and security vestibules that are a barrier between outside visitors and the main entrance.

"Unfortunately, these measures were not enough to stop this tragedy," Ms Battle said.

She noted that there are questions about whether stationary metal detectors should be considered.

"While past research has shown they have had limitations and unintended consequences, we will continue to explore emerging technologies and strategies to strengthen school safety," Ms Battle said.

Wednesday's school shooting comes nearly two years after a shooter opened fire at a separate Nashville private elementary school and killed six people, including three children.

The tragedy prompted a months-long effort among hundreds of community organisers, families, protesters and many more pleading with legislators to consider passing gun control measures in response to the shooting.

However, in a Republican-dominant state, legislators refused to do so.

With the Republican supermajority intact after November's election, it is unlikely attitudes have changed enough to consider any meaningful bills that would address gun control.