In an update published one year after the January 22, 2025 attack on Antioch High School, in which the shooter killed one student before taking his own life, Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) on Wednesday said it determined the shooting was motivated by the killer’s desire to become like the mass murderers he “idolized.”
MNPD wrote in its report that the attacker, 17-year-old student Solomon Henderson (pictured above), “acted alone and had no co-conspirators.” Police also confirmed the shooter did not specifically target his victim, Josselin Corea Escalante, but instead “randomly fired a total of ten shots” from his pistol, killing her and grazing another student’s arm.
According to the police press release, the killer’s online writings and journals reveal he, “idolized mass murderers from around the world, referred to them as ‘saints,’ and longed to have the ‘sainthood’ that he believed they achieved.”
MNPD also stated that the killer, “mirrored antisemitic and white supremacist ideologies, and was strongly influenced by satanic and violent extremist material on the Internet.” Henderson was publicly reported to be black, though his religious background is unknown.
The confirmation that Henderson was enmeshed in extremist content online comes after the U.S. Department of Justice said that two nihilistic cults, which recruit, commit crime, and plan mass violence using the internet, inspired his attack on the Nashville high school.
When the DOJ announced last year that it successfully extradited Michail Chkhikvishvili, the leader the Maniac Murder Cult, it described two attacks inspired by the group, including the shooting at Antioch High School. The DOJ also said that Henderson referenced the cult leader in his manifesto.
Chkhikvishvili (pictured here), whose followers called him “Commander Butcher,” pleaded guilty last year to his involvement in a foiled plot to distribute poisoned candy to parts of New York with a large Jewish population on December 31, 2023.
Potentially signaling the breadth of online connections between mass killers, a report published last year indicated that Henderson followed the X account of Natalie Rupnow, who killed two and injured seven at the Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin in late 2024.
At least two lawsuits have been filed since the attack at Antioch High School. The victim’s parents are seeking $700,000 following the death of their child, arguing Solomon was a “walking red flag” who went ignored by school administrators, while a former assistant principal sued over claims she developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from managing the crisis after the school’s principal fled.
In addition to its status update on the case, MNPD announced that Henderson’s mother, Chrysta Thomas, is subject to a nationwide arrest warrant after her DNA was allegedly discovered on the weapon used during the attack. Police said Thomas is prohibited from owning firearms after becoming a felon due to a 2010 conviction for possessing a stolen vehicle.
Another nihilistic cult, known as 764, has reportedly targeted at least one Tennessee teenager.
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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]. Â
