All six victims of a mass shooting at a Christian school in Nashville have been pictured and their stories shared as the nation mourns.
One 9-year-old girl died a hero, trying to pull a fire alarm to stop shooter Audrey Hale’s rampage. Evelyn Dieckhaus tried to alert others as the massacre unfolded at The Covenant School on Monday when she was shot, according to her family.
‘Our hearts are completely broken,’ stated her family, according to KMOV. ‘We cannot believe this has happened. Evelyn was a shining light in this world.’
Another 9-year-old students who was killed, Will Kinney, was ‘unfailingly kind’ and ‘always inclusive of others’, his family said. He was ‘gentle when the situation called for it’.
‘He loved his sisters, adored his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and was always excited to host friends of every age,’ stated a GoFundMe page set up for his funeral expenses. ‘Sweet Will knew no strangers, and our hearts our broken for his family as they try to find their way forward.’
The third 9-year-old killed in the massacre was Hallie Scruggs, who was the daughter of the senior pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church, which the school was part of.
Scruggs’ father, Chad Scruggs, said she was ‘such a gift’.
‘We are heartbroken,’ he told ABC News. ‘Through tears we trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again.’
One of the three adults killed was head of school Dr Katherine Koonce, 60. Koonce had ‘a confrontation’ with Hale and was found dead in a corridor, according to Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake.
City council member and former FBI agent Russ Pulley wrote on Facebook that Koonce ‘upon hearing the first shots, ran toward the danger’.
‘She also made sure the school was prepared with active shooter training and protocols,’ wrote Pulley. ‘Those actions saved countless lives.’
Substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, was also shot dead. She was ‘a devout servant and follower of the Lord Jesus Chris’, her friend Chuck Owen wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
‘She told me that she got saved in college and that God’s love changed her life,’ wrote Owen. ‘I grieve through tears as I write these words, but I know Cindy is in Heaven with her father, Dr. Bill Broyles, her mother, Nell Broyles, and her oldest sister, Diane.’
The third adult killed was custodian Mike Hill, 61, who worked at the private Christian school for more than a decade.
His daughter, Brittany Hill, wrote online on Monday: ‘I have watched school shootings happen over the years and never thought I would lose a loved one over a person trying to solve a temporary problem with a permanent solution.
‘I am so sorry for the loss of those children seeing their names not called out safe was devastating as well as the chaplain telling me and my siblings and family this god awful news.’
Drake on Tuesday said that Hale purchased seven firearms legally from five gun stores despite receiving treatment for an ’emotional disorder’. The motive of the shooting has not yet been determined.
Police first described Hale as a woman, as was assigned at birth. However, they later said he was transgender and used male pronouns in social media posts.
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