The sister of one of the nine-year-old girls murdered in the Nashville school massacre sobbed, “I don’t want to be an only child,” at an emotional vigil Monday night.
The congregation came together to pray for the six families who lost loved ones in Monday’s Covenant School shooting that killed three young children and three adults, including third grader Evelyn Dieckhaus.
Evelyn – who has been described as “adorable” by her Sunday school teacher – leaves behind an older sister, Eleanor, who made her heartbreaking remarks at Woodmont Christ Church.
The community also mourns the loss of nine-year-olds Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, as well as school staff Cynthia Peak, Katherine Koonce and Mike Hill.
dr Michael Dieckhaus holds his little daughters named Eleanor and Evelyn. Nine-year-old Evelyn Dieckhaus was one of six people shot dead at Nashville’s Covenant School
Hallie Scruggs is seen with her father, Chad Scruggs, the pastor of the school’s affiliated Presbyterian Church
Substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, aka Cindy Broyles Peak (right), is shown with her daughter Ellie. Peak was one of six people shot dead at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee on March 27, 2023
Katherine Koonce, headmistress (left), and Mike Hill, a janitor (right), were among those shot by Audrey Hale
Two women weep during a vigil at a prayer vigil at Woodmont Christian Church
In an online tribute to the little girl, a Sunday school teacher, Sarah Drury, described Evelyn as “adorable.”
“One of the 9-year-old victims of the Nashville shooting goes to my church. Her name is Evelyn Dieckhaus. She was adorable. I taught her equally angelic older sister in Sunday school,” Drury explained.
“Her mom Katy volunteered in our children’s ministry… such a sweet Christian family. We had a prayer vigil at our church tonight. We, the whole city, are overwhelmed with grief. Now. It is time to combine prayer and grief with action.”
Boxes of tissues were placed at the end of each pew at Monday night’s vigils. They were a much-needed addition to the brief service as people turned out to church, many with tears streaming down their faces.
The crowd fell silent as candles were lit and Nashvillians began to mourn.
“It was a hard day. We are sad. Sorry for the families who rushed to our church. Sad for those whose lives will never be the same due to the trauma inflicted on them. Sad because we live in a world broken by sin, suffering and death,” senior pastor Nathan Parker said in a statement.
The reeling city mourned Monday night at multiple vigils.
At Belmont United Methodist Church, weeping sniffles filled the background as vigil attendees sang, knelt in prayer and lit candles.
Lamenting the nationwide cycle of violent and deadly shootings, they once recited together, “We confess we have not done enough to protect the children injured or killed in shootings.”
“We have to resign. we need to breathe We must mourn,” said Paul Purdue, the church’s senior pastor. “We have to remember. We need to make room for other mourners. We need to hear the screams of our neighbors.”
People gather at Belmont United Methodist Church during a vigil for the victims killed earlier in the day at Covenant School, Covenant Presbytarian Church in Nashville, Tennessee
Two girls hug at a prayer vigil at Woodmont Christian Church for the victims of the mass shooting
A woman hugs her daughter during a prayer vigil Monday night
Family members pray for the victims of the mass shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School during a vigil at Woodmont Christian Church
Senior Pastor Paul Purdue preaches at Belmont United Methodist Church during a vigil for the victims killed at Covenant School earlier in the day
Boxes of tissues were placed at the end of each bench. They were a much-needed addition to the short service as people came to church with tears in their eyes
Pastors Kate Fields and Ingrid McIntyre lead a vigil for the victims killed earlier in the day at Covenant Presbytarian Church’s Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville’s Skyler Bush lights a candle during a vigil at Belmont United Methodist Church
On Monday night, Covenant School, which also lost the head school administrator, a substitute teacher and a janitor, released a statement on the tragedy.
“Our community is heartbroken. We mourn a tremendous loss and are shocked by the terror that has destroyed our school and church. We are focused on loving our students, our families, our faculty and our staff and beginning the healing process,” the school wrote.
The Covenant massacre was the latest in a series of mass shootings in a country increasingly unsettled by bloodshed in schools.
“I was literally brought to tears to see this and the children being led out of the building,” Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Monday during one of several news conferences.
The police gave unclear information about the gender of the shooter. For hours, police identified the shooter as a 28-year-old woman, eventually identifying the individual as Audrey Hale. Then, at a late-afternoon press conference, the police chief said Hale was transgender.
Late Monday night, police continued to refer to the shooter using feminine pronouns.
Audrey Hale, 28, opened fire at a Nashville school Monday, killing six
Hale’s Nashville home is pictured with the front door already boarded up
The home of the Nashville shooter can be seen to the southwest of the city
Children from Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, hold hands as they are taken to a reunion site at Woodmont Baptist Church after the shooting
Children at Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, are taken to an off-site location after the shooting
The shooter gained entry by firing at and smashing glass doors of the building, police later said in a tweet.
The shooter was armed with two assault-style weapons and a pistol, authorities said. According to the boss, at least two of them are believed to have been legally sourced in the Nashville area.
The victims have been identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all aged nine, and adult Cynthia Peak, 61; dr Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61.
The website of The Covenant School, a Presbyterian school founded in 2001, lists a Dr. Katherine Koonce as the principal of the school. According to her LinkedIn profile, she has been running the school since July 2016. According to investigators, Peak was a substitute teacher and Hill was a janitor.
The students held hands as they walked to the school buses, which took them to a nearby church to be reunited with their parents.
Rachel Dibble, who was at church when families found their children, described the scene as “complete shock”.
“People shook involuntarily,” said Dibble, whose children attend another private school in Nashville. “The kids… started their mornings in their cute little uniforms, they probably had a few froot loops and now their whole lives have changed today.”
A group prays with a child outside the reunion center at Woodmont Baptist Church following the school shooting
Children and a woman, all visibly shaken, are seen at the school after the shooting
Children hold hands as they exit Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday after a gunman opened fire, killing three children and three staff members
President Joe Biden, speaking at the White House Monday, called the shooting a “family’s worst nightmare” and again implored Congress to pass a ban on certain semi-automatic weapons.
“It rips the soul of this nation, rips the soul of this nation,” Biden said.
Biden later ordered the U.S. flag to be flown at half-mast on all federal buildings by March 31. He also spoke to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and Nashville Mayor John Cooper about the shooting, officials said.
The Covenant School was founded as a ministry of the Covenant Presbyterian Church, which is affiliated with the conservative evangelical Presbyterian Church in America. It’s located in the affluent Green Hills neighborhood just south of downtown Nashville, which is home to the famous Bluebird Café – a spot usually popular with musicians and songwriters.
The school has around 200 students from preschool through sixth grade and around 50 staff.
Late Monday night, police released about two minutes of edited surveillance video showing the gunman’s car driving towards the school from multiple angles, including one showing children playing on swings in the background.
Next, an interior shot shows glass doors to the school being blasted out and the shooter ducking through one of the broken doors.
Additional interior footage shows the shooter walking down a school corridor holding a long-barreled gun, entering a room marked “Church Office,” and then exiting.
In the final portion of the footage, the shooter can be seen walking down another long corridor, gun drawn. The shooter is not interacting with anyone else on the video, which has no sound.
How the Nashville school shooting unfolded
9:53 a.m. – Hale’s gray Honda Fit arrives at the Covenant School in Nashville.
09:54 – Hale drives through the parking lot seemingly calmly. Nothing to suggest anything is out of the ordinary when she finds a parking space.
10:10 am – The glass door that was locked is shattered as Hale opens fire. She then steps through the rubble into the empty reception area of the church that adjoins the school.
10:13 am – Hale, brandishing her assault rifle, is seen entering a carpeted room in the church and looking for victims. The room is empty. The first call to 911 about a gunshot in the building came in around this time.
10:18 am – Hale can be seen on the same camera at the church still searching for victims. She opens a door into the next room.
10:19 a.m. – The 28-year-old returns through the door and aims her gun, although no one is there. She tries another door and returns 30 seconds later.
10:20 am – Hale now walks past an empty reception desk through a wooden floored building labeled “First” in the footage. She strolls down the corridor and then disappears from view.
10:27 am – Hale is shot dead on the second floor of the school after hiring officers who fired back and killed her.