Nashville mayor mourns the 6 school murder victims: Introduction
Nashville mayor mourns the 6 school murder victims: Grief-stricken To honor the three 9-year-old children and three adults who died in the mass shooting at a private Christian school, Nashville locals gathered for a vigil on Wednesday.
Jill Biden, the first lady, was present as locals remembered the deceased, prayed and shared their sorrow. Sheryl Crow, a singer-songwriter, gave the grieving audience a performance of her song “I Shall Believe.”
The city-wide tribute was launched by Mayor John Cooper with the statement, “Just two days ago was our worst day.” “Our hearts are shattered. He continued, “Our city is united as we grieve together. Please join hands.
Providing updates on the investigation, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake, who has become a familiar figure, told the audience that a school shooting, like the one that occurred at The Covenant School on Monday, is a situation that officers have been prepared for but had hoped would never occur.
“With Nashville and the rest of the world, our police officers have wept and are crying. Drake expressed her gratitude to the police officers who raced into the building and the other first responders who provided the victims with emergency care, adding, “I have wept and I continue to weep, and I have prayed for Nashville as well.
Police are still trying to find out the still-unknown reason behind Audrey Hale’s 28-year-old decision to storm into a private Christian school and kill three children and three people while the community grieves.
According to Drake, police have spoken with Hale’s parents and school administrators but have not yet identified any particular problems or issues in the attacker’s background.
Drake told CNN on Wednesday, “As of right now, we have no indication there was any trouble at the school or home.” “At this time, we are unable to confirm any problems of any kind.”
Before the shooter was shot and killed by officers during the 14-minute spree on Monday morning at Covenant, the shooting lasted about two hours. Three 9-year-olds, a school custodian, a substitute teacher, and the principal were all slain in the attack.
Following a fatal school shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville on Wednesday, people join a vigil. (Cheney Orr/Reuters)
According to a CNN count, the massacre was the 19th shooting at a school or institution in the last three months that resulted in at least one person being injured. It was the deadliest US school shooting since last May’s massacre in Uvalde, Texas, which claimed 21 lives. It was one of 130 mass killings this year in the US with at least four casualties (excluding the shooting itself).
A representative for Nashville claimed that Katherine Koonce, the principal of The Covenant School, spent her final moments attempting to safeguard the students under her care.
Katherine Koonce, who was on a Zoom call, reportedly abruptly ended the call after hearing the shots and left the workplace, according to the witness. From there, it is presumed that she moved in the direction of the gunman, according to Councilman Russ Pulley. He gave no name of the witness.
The police chief, Drake, stated that he is unable to corroborate Koonce’s cause of death but added, “I do know she was in the hallway by herself. I’m confident there was a confrontation. She is lying in the corridor, and you can tell.
All of the victims who were shot at were in an open space or a corridor, according to Fidler, who toured the school with authorities on Wednesday.
According to Fidler, the only victims this shooter was able to reach were those who were trapped in an open space or corridor. “Several people were able to flee in safety. Those who couldn’t do it safely followed all instructions and training precisely.
Because the teachers were aware of what to do, how to fortify their doors, and where to position their students in those rooms, according to Fidler, the shooter was unable to strike anyone inside the classrooms despite firing multiple rounds into a number of them.
Also, Read “Why Ron DeSantis declared himself Unelectable for President“
Nashville mayor mourns the 6 school murder victims: Artists explain the shooter’s Social media posts
According to a college art teacher who taught the shooter, Hale had an outburst in class once and appeared to be “suffering” in social media posts over the past year.
Maria Colomy, the instructor, instructed Hale at Nossi College of Art & Design in Nashville for two semesters in 2017. Hale became upset and had to exit the classroom on the first day of class because he couldn’t figure out how to set up a password, according to Colomy. Hale’s only reaction, she claimed.
Colomy characterized Hale as a small, quiet student with “whimsical” and “childlike” work.
“I could see (Hale) making a living off of children’s books,” Colomy said.
Colomy followed Hale on Facebook, and the instructor said Hale’s posts for the past year mourned the apparent loss of a former girls’ basketball teammate.
“The only thing I’d see (Hale) post about would be this girl,” she explained.
Around this time, Hale expressed his wish to use he/him pronouns and the name Aiden on Facebook. According to police, Hale was transsexual.
“From what I saw on (Hale’s) social media, (Hale) was in pain,” Colomy stated.
Nashville mayor mourns the 6 school murder victims: Shooter’s Tweet gives more details
The killer targeted the school, which the shooter attended as a child, in Monday’s assault, but police think the victims were shot at random. Police have stated that they do not yet know what motivated the assault, but that it was meticulously planned.
Hale had been treated for an emotional disorder and lawfully purchased seven guns in the previous three years, but the weapons were kept hidden from Hale’s parents, according to Drake.
Tennessee does not have a “red flag” legislation that allows a judge to temporarily seize a person’s firearms if they are deemed a threat to themselves or others. Nonetheless, Drake stated that they were unaware of Hale’s problems, and there is no evidence that Hale was considered a threat previous to this week.
“There was no contact with law enforcement,” he said. “She was never committed to a facility.”
According to CNN, the shooter is thought to have received weapons training.
Drake also stated that authorities are looking through Hale’s notebook of writings to learn more. According to Drake, Hale had written extensively about the shootings in a personal notebook, including detailed maps of the school, and had scouted a second potential attack site in Nashville.
Drake said Monday that the attacker was “prepared for a confrontation with law enforcement, prepared to do more harm than was done.”
According to Hale’s childhood friend, the killer sent her disturbing texts minutes before the attack, saying “I’m planning to die today” and that it would be on the news.
Hale graduated from Nossi College of Art & Design last year, according to the school’s dean. According to his LinkedIn page, Hale worked as a freelance graphic designer and a part-time grocery shopper.
Police initially referred to Hale as a “female shooter,” but later revealed that she was transsexual. When asked to clarify, a spokesperson for Hale told CNN that he used masculine pronouns on his social media profile.
Nashville mayor mourns the 6 school murder victims: Bodycam video shows police fatally shooting the attacker.
Officer bodycam footage and surveillance video released by police gave a timeline of the attack and reaction.
According to surveillance video released by police, the shooter entered the school by firing at glass doors and climbing through to get inside, then walked down the halls and pointed an assault-style weapon.
According to the police chief, the first report about the shooting came in at 10:13 a.m., and officers rushed to the school, arriving at 10:24 a.m.
On Tuesday, police revealed body-camera footage from the two officers who fired on the shooter after storming the school on Monday. According to the video, a group of five officers entered the school amid wailing fire alarms and proceeded into several empty classrooms rooms to look for the suspect.
Officers raced up to the second floor after hearing gunfire upstairs while clearing the rooms. According to the video, an officer equipped with an assault-style rifle fired multiple times at a person near a big window who fell to the ground.
Another officer then appeared to use a handgun to shoot the individual on the ground four times while yelling, “Stop moving!” The police then approached the individual, moved a gun away from him, and radioed, “Suspect.”
According to authorities, the shooter died at 10:27 a.m.
According to Aaron, the police spokesman, there was no school resource officer appointed by the city to guard the school because it was a private school run by a church.
When asked about the approximately 11-minute delay between the first call of an active shooter and the arrival of officers at the school, the police chief told reporters, “From what I’ve seen, I don’t have a particular problem with it.” But we are always striving to improve. We always want to get there in 2 or 3 minutes, so many things could have happened – traffic was shut down, for example.”
The quick law enforcement response in Nashville contrasts sharply with the more than an hour delay in Uvalde, Texas, before authorities confronted and killed the gunman – a lag that reignited a national debate about the use of force during shootings in public places, particularly schools.
Nashville mayor mourns the 6 school murder victims: Aunt describes the 9-year-old victim as “incredibly smart.”
Katherine Koonce, Mike Hill, Cynthia Peak, Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney were the Covenant School shooting casualties (top row). – From The Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Facebook, KMOV, and the Dieckhaus family
Three 9-year-old students were among those killed in the shooting: Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs, the daughter of main church pastor Chad Scruggs.
Hallie’s aunt, Kara Arnold, described her niece as having “a love for life that kept her smiling, running, jumping, playing, and always on the go.”
“It has been a gift and a privilege to watch her these past 9 years,” Arnold wrote on Facebook. “I’ve often wished for a daughter, and Hallie embodied everything I’d want in my little girl.”
She stated that Hallie and her son Chip were nearly the same age and were extremely close.
“When they were together, no one else existed, and we would rarely know where they were or what they were up to,” she wrote, adding that they were typically up to no good.
“She was incredibly smart, feisty enough to keep up with her three brothers and my four boys, and she had a love for life that kept her smiling, running, jumping, playing, and always on the move.”
Arnold confirmed to CNN that she is on her way to Nashville to visit her brother and sister-in-law.
“I don’t have the words to express my feelings about this tragedy.” “I’m in shock, and my boys, Adam, and I can’t believe she’s gone,” she wrote. “We are in profound sorrow. And for my brother and sister-in-law, as well as my nephews, who are experiencing the worst nightmare imaginable. We feel your pain and wish we could take it away.”
Friends of the Kinney family shared on GoFundMe that William, another of the children slain, had an “unflappable spirit.”
“He was unfailingly kind, gentle when appropriate, quick to laugh, and always inclusive of others,” they wrote.
Will was the son of two sisters and liked spending time with his family and friends. “Our hearts are broken for his family as they attempt to move forward,” the friends said.
Evelyn’s family thanks everyone for their affection and support and asks for privacy as they grieve, according to a family statement obtained by CNN affiliate KMOV.
“Our hearts are shattered. “We can’t believe this has happened,” said the statement. “In this world, Evelyn was a shining light.”
Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher, and Mike Hill, 61, a custodian, were among the adults slain in addition to Koonce.
The peak was best friends with Tennessee first lady Maria Lee and was scheduled to dine at the Lees’ house Monday evening, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said in a video statement Tuesday.
“This morning, Maria awoke without one of her best friends, Cindy Peak,” the governor said. “Cindy, Maria, and Katherine Koonce all worked at the same school and were family friends for decades.”
Hill was a father of seven children and grandpa to fourteen who enjoyed cooking and spending time with his family, according to a statement obtained by CNN affiliate WSMV. Evelyn’s family referred to her as “a bright light in this world.”
Mayor Cooper stated that the city has established a fund to assist the attack survivors.
