Doctors who rushed to try and save three students shot dead at their Nashville school reveal the moment the got the news 'many of us dread' - and say assault rifle wounds are 'essentially unsurvivable' for kids

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A Nashville surgeon recalled the chilling message he received that three nine-year-olds with gunshot wounds were being transported for care on the day of the Covenant School Massacre.

Dr. Joseph Fusco of Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt said his training never prepared him for what he witnessed on Monday morning after a 28-year-old transgender mass shooter opened fire killing six people.

Upon receiving notice of the incident around 10am, Fusco quickly rushed with other staffers, including nurses, religious leaders, physicians and more, to create a family area and care for the victims: Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney.

'You're in a bit of shock when you get something like that,' Fusco told NPR. 'This should never happen to children.' 

Fusco was left with 'the feeling of sheer helplessness when you have patients that come in with injuries that are just completely unsurvivable,' he added.

Dr. Joseph Fusco recalled the chilling message he received that three nine-year-olds with gunshot wounds were being transported for care on the day of the Covenant School Massacre. Dr. Alex Jahangir added the assault riffle used to murder the third graders has irreversible damages on their small bodies 

Hallie Scruggs is seen with her father Chad Scruggs, the pastor at the presbyterian church affiliated with the school

Tributes have flooded in for a second victim, Will Kinney, (pictured)  who was shot and killed along with Hallie Scruggs, both 9, in the massacre

Despite the hospital staff's swift kick into action with readily prepared operation tables and blood transfusion areas, the three third graders were already deceased upon their arrival. 

Fusco grieved the children as he recollected their wounds and his inability to help them.

'You're so geared up. We're so well-prepared to help. We've had nurses drive in from home to the emergency department. Everyone is there,' he told the news outlet.

Police revealed last week shooter Audrey Hale, who was born a female but identified as a man, legally purchased seven firearms despite receiving treatment for for an emotional disorder.

Hale was once a regular a Royal Range in Bellevue, Tennessee and took three defensive gun courses before April 2022, WSMV4 reported.

DailyMail.com previously reached out to Royal Range for a confirmation but were told, 'no comment.' 

On Monday, Hale took three of her weapons to The Covenant School - two rifles and a handgun. 

Another two weapons were seen being removed from the house last week in a video obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.

Fusco told the news outlet that the gruesome attack on children using a 'assault riffle' was the first he has witnessed despite decades in the medical industry.

'I think suffice to say that injuries from those weapons are essentially unsurvivable for children,' he said.

'It goes against all of the training that I've had for so long. Throughout residency, fellowship, you see thousands and thousands of patients. You're taught to help and do everything you can to help them,' he added. 

After the students were officially pronounced dead, Fusco recalled the gathering of several grieving staff members who were mourning the losses. 

'Being in that room, with people being exceptionally upset, expressing that emotion, it's difficult,' Fusco told the news outlet. 'The silence is deafening.'

Hale, 28, has been described as having 'high-functioning' autism, but police revealed she also was under doctors' care

In addition to the weapons found at her home, police recovered these three weapons from the scene

Dr. Alex Jahangir, who works at Vanderbilt's Center for Trauma, Burn and Emergency Surgery recalled when he was alerted of the mass shooting victims.

'It became evident that this was serious and this was maybe a little different from what we've experienced before, in that it's what I think many of us, especially those of us with young children, always dread,' Jahangiri said. 

He added he can tell if a gunshot wound is from a rifle or a handgun.

'I can tell right away if somebody has been shot with a handgun versus a high-powered assault rifle,' Jahangir told NPR while speaking on his expertise as a trauma surgeon.

He added that assault rifles are known to do more damage on small bodies and likely reach vital organs. 

Before the mass shooter committed the heinous crime, she was seen leaving her home on Monday before 10am with a red bag and asked briefly what was inside of it, Nashville Police Chief John Drake said at a press conference last week.

'She dismissed it, thinking it was just a motherly thing,' Drake said.

Drake added the suspect was under doctors' care for an 'emotional disorder' which was not reported to authorities.

If it had, she might have been prevented from buying so many weapons.

Ronald and Norma Hale, the suspects parents. Norma asked her daughter what was inside of her red backpack she carried the day of the massacre. The suspect brushed off the question and Norma didn't think much of it 

Hale was then seen minutes later driving into the Covenant School parking lot where she sat for a seconds to send a 'suicide letter' to an old friend she played basketball with in high school.

'I'm planning to die today. THIS IS NOT A JOKE!!! You'll probably hear about me on the news after I die. 

'This is my last goodbye. I love you. 'See you again in another life,' she wrote.  

The friend called police but didn't dial 911, so had to wait seven minutes for someone to answer her call. 

By then, Hale had entered the school, shooting three children dead and three teachers, including Head of School Katherine Koonce, 60. 

Chief Drake said she was 'assassinated' in the hallway, and that Hale shot 'everyone she came into contact with'. 

The other staff victims were substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, and school custodian Mike Hill, 61.

 Her motive remains unclear, but police say she felt 'resentment' about having attended the church school. 

Katherine Koonce, head of school (left), and Cynthia Peak, a substitute teacher (right) were among those shot dead by Audrey Hale

Mike Hill, a custodian, was among those shot dead by Audrey Hale at Covenant School on Monday