Memorial for Nashville shooting victims: 'Our hearts are broken'
Send a link to a friend
[March 30, 2023]
By Jonathan Allen and Brendan O'Brien
NASHVILLE (Reuters) -First lady Jill Biden joined a memorial vigil in
Nashville on Wednesday for the three children and three adults shot to
death this week at a Christian day school, including two educators who
were close friends of the Tennessee governor's wife.
The outdoor ceremony, attended by several hundred people, began about an
hour before sunset in Nashville Public Square Park, outside city hall in
the state capital, Tennessee's largest city, and several miles from the
scene of Monday's massacre.
The service lasted only about 30 minutes, punctuated by prayers and
performances from musicians Sheryl Crow, Margo Price and Ketch Secor.
The crowd sang along to Secor's rendition of the popular Christian hymn
"Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" as he accompanied himself on banjo.
The victims' names were repeatedly recited during the tribute -
9-year-old students Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs,
along with custodian Mike Hill, 61; the school's headmaster, Katherine
Koonce, 60; and substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/30/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
"Think of all the hugs they would have had, and all the hugs we can
still give each other," said Mayor John Cooper, accompanied by numerous
local leaders and clergy. "Nashville has had its worst day. Our hearts
are broken."
Cooper saluted police officers and other first-responders, for "rushing
towards danger to save lives on our darkest day."
The perpetrator of Monday's carnage, former Covenant School student
Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, was fatally shot by officers storming the
building minutes after gunfire was first reported, likely preventing a
higher death toll.
"Our police officers have cried and are crying with Nashville, and the
world," city Police Chief John Drake told mourners.
'THERE IS PAIN'
Monday's shooting, the latest of dozens in U.S. schools this year alone,
has touched a particularly raw nerve, in part because three victims were
so young and because it scorched Nashville's tight-knit Christian
community.
"Many Tennesseans are feeling the exact same way: The emptiness, the
lack of understanding, the desperate desire for answers, the desperate
need for hope," said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in a video posted on
his Twitter feed.
Lee said both Koonce and Peak at one time had taught at the same school
as his wife, Maria, and that the three remained close friends for
decades. Lee said Peak and his wife had planned to dine together on
Monday.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/30/images/ads/current/farmersgrain_sda_SFARM_2023.png)
"I understand there is pain. I understand the desperation to have
answers, to place blame, to argue about a solution that could prevent
this horrible tragedy," he said. "This is not a time for hate or rage."
Some in extreme right-wing circles have seized on the case to vilify
transgender people, after police said the shooter identified as
transgender. It has since emerged that Hale was going by the name Aiden
and using male pronouns on social media in recent months.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/033023PIX/news_a11.jpg)
Students from the nearby Harpeth Hall
School pray while visiting a memorial at the school entrance after a
deadly shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney Orr
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/30/images/ads/current/openarms_inside_EASTER_2023.png)
The shootings heightened anxiety in the LGBTQ community amid moves
by Republican politicians in numerous states to outlaw
gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, including a ban
enacted recently in Tennessee.
SMALL ARSENAL AT HOME
Drake, the police chief, said investigators seeking clues to what
precipitated the killings were examining maps and writings in a
60-page notebook found at Hale's home. The writings suggested plans
to carry out shootings at other locations, but authorities have yet
to pinpoint a motive, Drake said.
The shooter was armed at the time of the attack with two
assault-style weapons and a 9mm handgun, which police later found
were among seven firearms that Hale had legally purchased in recent
years.
While Hale targeted the school - housed in the Covenant Presbyterian
Church and serving about 200 students from pre-kindergarten to sixth
grade - the individual victims were slain at random, police have
said.
In a CNN interview on Wednesday, Drake said it remained unclear what
role, if any, Hale's gender identity, religious beliefs or
educational background played in the attack, stressing that the
investigation was in its early stages. He said earlier this week
that investigators believed Hale harbored some resentment at having
attended Covenant as a child.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/30/images/ads/current/castlemanor_sda_FINANCIAL_2017.png)
"There may have been some resentment. But we haven't been able to
confirm it," Drake said on Wednesday. "As of right now, we don't
have any indication there was any problems at the school or home."
Investigators are also looking at the mental health of the shooter,
who was under a doctor's care for an emotional disorder, Drake said.
As with most high-profile mass shootings, the latest attack has
added fuel to a long-running national debate over gun ownership
rights and regulations.
Tennessee does not require a permit to possess a firearm, regardless
of whether it is concealed or openly carried.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in Nashville and Brendan O'Brien in
Chicago; Additional reporting by Rich McKay in AtlantaWriting and
additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by
Leslie AdlerEditing by Mark Porter and Matthew Lewis)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/30/images/ads/current/safetytip_sda_longview_2023.png) |