A former assistant principal at Antioch High School reportedly sued Nashville and her former boss, alleging she developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after witnessing Solomon Henderson take his own life after he fatally shot another student at the school on January 22, 2025.
Dr. Kelly Latham filed the lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court, according to Tristar Daily, which obtained the lawsuit last week. It reveals the former Antioch High School administrator, who had worked in Nashville schools since 2003, claimed Executive Principal Dr. Nekesha Burnette chose to “run away from the crisis,” leaving Latham to “take charge” of the situation “by organizing the evacuation and dismissal of students.”
With Burnette allegedly unable to respond to the crisis, the lawsuit states that Latham personally witnessed Solomon, who was a student at the school, turn the gun on himself after he killed Josselin Corea Escalante Vega.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Latham alleges that Burnette expressed concern about her response, and the lawsuit alleges this quickly instigated a series of abuses against colleagues who were traumatized due to their role in the response to the crisis.
As she sought to redress her concerns with her boss, Latham claims that Burnette lashed out and ultimately arranged for Latham’s contract with Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) not to be renewed.
Latham also alleges this was not the first time that Burnette avoided danger during an incident at the school.
“On May 8, 2024, during a meeting with assistant principals, Defendant Burnette gasped at an alert on her phone showing a report of a gun on campus,” according to the lawsuit. Latham claimed that she and other administrators “immediately ran towards the scene, while Defendant Burnette remained in the conference room.”
The weapon was determined to be a toy, but the lawsuit claimed Burnette later held a faculty meeting to falsely claim that she ran toward the danger after receiving the alert.
Nashville reportedly sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing Latham failed to properly state a claim in her complaint and that Burnette is not a proper defendant due to her employment with the school district. The city also reportedly raised the existence of two reprimands received by Latham during the 2024-2025 school year.
This is the second lawsuit to be filed since the shooting, as Escalante Vega’s parents last year filed a $700,000 lawsuit against Nashville and MNPS, alleging that Henderson was a “walking red flag” who went ignored by the school.
Federal prosecutors have stated that two online cults were motivators for Henderson’s attack. The leader of one of the groups, the Maniac Murder Cult, a citizen of Georgia who previously traveled to the United States, pleaded guilty to a federal indictment last November.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
An attempted money grab for her and her law firm. Throw this one out.