NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The calls continue for the release of the manifesto left behind by the Covenant School shooter. But, a top security expert questions whether that should even be the focus as we look to prevent such massacres.
More than a month after the shooting, the manifesto is still not public. Former Lt. Colonel now specializing in school safety says there are far more important things to investigate. Moose Moore with Vigilance Group finds himself very busy these days in the wake of the Covenant shooting -- working to make schools safer.
And he finds the attention given to the unreleased manifesto as a distraction.
"The manifesto to me is a lot of noise level right now," said Moore.
He's a former TSA air marshal who studied terrorist tactics in Israel. Moore's seen his share of manifestos and like so many, he wonders about the Covenant shooting motive.
"I'm curious, but from a professional perspective it doesn't make any difference," said Moore.
To him, the why of what happened is not nearly as important as the how. Six innocent lives were lost at Covenant despite an incredible response by Metro police. Moore says studying the shooter's writings won't help prevent that.
"I'm more interested — which has not been released — the real-time of what happened at Covenant because we don't really know."
The public has seen the body camera video of brave officers taking out the shooter. Among the six victims, Moore wonders specifically about exactly how and where the three children were targeted. It's his belief the fire alarm — likely triggered by smoke from the shooter's weapon —could have played a role.
It's happened in other cases, where it draws people out from the safety of classrooms.
"If an unscheduled fire alarm goes off in a school today, tomorrow unplanned, hold your horses," said Moore.
But what if it's a real fire?
"Could be, but when is the last time a school burned down?" said Moore.
He said there now needs to be a mindset in reacting to things like fire drills.
If an unscheduled fire drill happens, confirm before acting, he says.
Moore believes everything is being evaluated by police and the FBI and that takes time.
But he does expect not only the manifesto but also the other details about what happened in the school to eventually be public.
In addition to authorities still evaluating the shooter's writings and reviewing videos, there are now two lawsuits tying up a potential release of the manifesto in court.
