Parents of Nashville school shooting victims fight to keep records out of public view

The parents of children killed in a shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville are fighting to keep police investigative records a secret, even after many documents were leaked to a conservative media outlet.

In a Tennessee appeals court on Thursday, attorneys for the parents and The Covenant School will defend a lower court ruling that determined the shooter’s writings and other documents are protected by federal copyright law and cannot be released under the Tennessee Public Records Act.

The Covenant parents also argued that releasing the documents would be traumatic for the families and could inspire copycat attacks. Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea Myles found that the copycat risk was real and “of grave concern.”

Meanwhile, a coalition including a state senator, media outlets and a gun rights group are seeking to have the ruling overturned. The Associated Press is among the groups that requested the records but did not participate in the lawsuit.

Read more: AP