Thirteen minutes. That's how long it took two Nashville police officers to find and stop a school shooter who had already killed six people.
On March 27, 2023, Officer Rex Engelbert and Detective Michael Collazo were the two Metro Nashville police officers who fatally shot Audrey Hale, ending a mass shooting at The Covenant School that killed three 9-year-old students and three staff members. Since then, both men have received some of the highest honors available to American law enforcement.
Thirteen Minutes
The first 911 call came in at 10:13 a.m. Engelbert, a four-year veteran, grabbed his patrol rifle and was handed a building key by a staff member before calling other arriving officers to follow him in. Alongside Sergeant Jeffrey Mathes and Detectives Michael Collazo, Zachary Plese, and Ryan Cagle, they moved through the building clearing classrooms, then ran toward the sound of gunfire coming from the second floor.
They found Hale in a common area, firing down at arriving police cars through a window. Engelbert and Collazo fired back and killed her. From the first 911 call to the shooter being stopped: 13 minutes. Hale had fired 152 rounds by that point; Engelbert fired four from his rifle, Collazo four from his sidearm.
What They Walked Into
Hale, a 28-year-old former student at the school, had arrived armed with two rifles and a pistol and shot her way through a side entrance's glass doors. She killed a custodian first, then climbed to the school's upper level and killed three 9-year-old students along with the school's principal and a substitute teacher. Police later found handwritten notes in her vehicle indicating the attack had been planned in advance.
Recognition That Followed
In the years since, Engelbert and Collazo, along with Mathes, Plese, and Cagle, have received a stack of honors rarely seen for a single incident: the National Association of School Resource Officers' Award of Valor in May 2023, the national Top Cops Award in May 2024, the International Association of Chiefs of Police's Officers of the Year award in October 2024, and, in January 2025, the Medal of Valor — the nation's highest award for public safety officers — presented by President Biden at the White House. A bill was also introduced in Congress proposing Congressional Gold Medals for Collazo and Engelbert specifically.
Collazo, a former Marine infantryman, has said the attention feels less about him and more about honoring the people who didn't survive that day. He's said the officers try to make a point of retelling the victims' stories whenever they can, rather than the shooter's.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long did the shooting last before officers stopped it?
From the first 911 call to the shooter being killed, roughly 13 minutes.
Were the officers disciplined or investigated for the shooting?
No. Their response has been consistently and publicly recognized as heroic by the department, the city, and national law enforcement organizations.
Have the officers received formal recognition since the shooting?
Yes, extensively — including the National Award of Valor, the national Top Cops Award, IACP Officer of the Year, and the Medal of Valor presented at the White House in January 2025.