The Metro Nashville Board of Education has signed off on a $300,000 settlement for the family of 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante, who was killed inside the Antioch High School cafeteria on Jan. 22, 2025. The agreement ends a wrongful-death lawsuit the family filed after alleging the district and Metro Nashville failed to protect students and missed warning signs about the shooter. The suit initially sought as much as $700,000 in damages.
What the family alleged
Filed in July, the complaint argued that Metro Nashville Public Schools and the Metro government were negligent because staff allowed the shooter to remain at the school despite a documented history of violent incidents and because the firearm he used was not detected when he entered campus, according to The Tennessean. The filing detailed juvenile court records and school-discipline reports and pushed for the maximum damages allowed under state law.
Board response and vote
The Board of Education maintains that the school and district took appropriate steps before the shooting but said it approved the settlement to spare the family "further trauma through protracted litigation," according to a statement provided to WSMV. Board Chair Freda Player said the district has been working with law enforcement and community partners to support the Antioch community in the aftermath of the killing and to strengthen campus safety measures.
How investigators described the attacker
Authorities identified the gunman as 17-year-old Solomon Henderson, who confronted Escalante in the cafeteria and later died from a self-inflicted gunshot, according to reporting by The Associated Press. Investigators reviewed troubling online writings and, as The Associated Press noted, Henderson had prior juvenile incidents, including an earlier confrontation involving a box cutter, that raised continuing questions about how schools handled him before the shooting.
Safety changes and public reaction
In the months after the shooting, MNPS reported increasing School Resource Officer presence at Antioch and installing advanced concealed-weapon detection scanners at high schools, with plans to expand the scanners to middle schools, as reported by The Tennessean. Coverage by Nashville Scene also chronicled student-led protests and renewed calls for broader policy changes as the district rolled out those security upgrades.
What the settlement means going forward
Because the attacker died at the scene, there is no criminal trial. The $300,000 agreement resolves the family's civil claims and, according to WSMV, covers attorneys' fees while allowing MNPS to avoid a drawn-out court battle. District and city officials said the payment does not change the district's stated commitment to strengthen school safety and to support grieving students and families.
