Audrey Elizabeth Hale was born and raised in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, United States. He was born biologically female but he identified as male.

As a commercial illustrator and graphic designer, Hale posted his creations online and once worked on a children’s book about a support dog. He attended The Covenant School, a private Christian elementary school in Green Hills, Nashville, the Nashville School of Arts, where he played basketball, and the Nossi College of Art in Nashville.

Hale lived with his parents Ronald E. Hale and Norma Fort Hale in Nashville. Ronald is self-employed while Norma is a coordinator at The Village Chapel, which is near their house.

In Audrey’s personal website, he wrote that aside from art, he also enjoyed binging on video games, watching movies, playing sports and spending time with his two cats. He added that there was a child-like part about him that loved to go run to the playground.

Audrey used his birth name but also went by Aiden Hale. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. On June 13, 2012, his grandmother Audrey Christine Burnette Hale died in Green Hills at age 96.
2. In August 2015, he received the Excellent Student award from the Nossi College of Art for achieving greatness in the classroom. In the same month, he wrote a note to one teacher who lost a son in a car accident in 2014 saying, “Don’t ever let anything or anyone steal your joy. You have a reason and a purpose to be here.”
3. On March 15, 2017, his mother shared on Facebook that a Nossi College of Art instructor recommended him for an awards competition.
4. On October 6, 2017, his mother took to Facebook to share childhood photos of him and his brother Henry Scott Hale with a caption, “Just grateful today to be the Mom of these 2 awesome kids!”
5. From May 2018 to July 2018, he was a Sora Entertainment graphic designer in Nashville. From May 2018 to April 2022, he was a Nossi College of Art illustrator.
6. On January 28, 2019, his mother shared on Facebook that she found a devotional book and loaned it to him.
7. Between October 20, 2020 and June 6, 2022, he legally purchased seven weapons.
8. From November 2020 to December 2020, he was a cat sitter at Music City Cats in Nashville.
9. In April 2022, he launched AH Illustrations in Nashville. In the same month, he received the Academic All Star award from the Nossi College of Art for having the highest grade point average (GPA) in the school’s college program.
10. In May 2022, he joined Shipt in Nashville as a grocery shopper.
11. In June 2022, he graduated from the Nossi College of Art with a bachelor’s degree in illustration and graphic design.
12. On February 9, 2023, he took to TikTok to pay tribute to his former Nashville School of Arts basketball teammate Sydney Sims, who died in a car crash in Nashville on August 20, 2022.
13. On the morning of March 27, 2023, he left home in Nashville with a red bag. His parents asked what was inside but were dismissed. At 9:57 a.m. on March 27, 2023, he sent her an Instagram message to Paige Patton saying “something bad is about to happen.” At around 10:00 a.m., he entered The Covenant School with  an AR-15, a Kel-Tec SUB 2000 and a handgun and opened fire, fatally shooting teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, custodian Mike Hill, 61, school head Katherine Koonce, 60, and students Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9, Hallie Scruggs, 9, and William Kinney, 9. At 10:27 a.m., he was fatally shot by police officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo on the second floor of the school. He was 28.