Engelbert yells to his fellow officers: "Let's go, I need three! Mike Hill was a custodian at the Covenant School, according to police. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department receives a call about an active shooter inside the school. The shooter in this situation reportedly had two assault weapons and a pistol, Mr. Biden said during a small-business event at the White House, referring to reports by local officials. "It is our privilege to honor Katherine's legacy and to celebrate her remarkable spirit," they said. How is this still happening? Chief Drake said it was too early to discuss a possible motive for the shooting, though he confirmed that the attack was targeted. Nashville shooting timeline: How the massacre unfolded at the Covenant So I call on Congress, again, to pass my assault weapons ban. Cindy Peak is seen in this undated photo. The police received a report of the shooting at 10:13 a.m. on March 27 and heard gunshots on the second floor when they arrived at the school, said Don Aaron, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. There have been at least 130 mass shootings in 2023, according to data fromthe Gun Violence Archive, including Monday's deadlyshooting. Bill Lee said his wife, Maria, was friends with Koonce and Cynthia Peak, who was also killed. Hill's family thanked the community "for all the continued thoughts and prayers. Lee, speaking in a video statement Tuesday, talked about the close relationship his wife had with Cynthia Peak. Their whole lives changed today.. Senator Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, said on Twitter that she was heartbroken, and that her office had been in contact with the authorities. CNN Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old former Covenant School student who killed six people at the school Monday, carefully planned the attack, according to officials. The police in Nashville identified the six victims as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9; Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher; Mike Hill, 61, a custodian; and Katherine Koonce, 60. The children adore him, he adores his wife, Mr. Duncan said in an interview on Monday. After spending time in Woodmont Baptist, Melissa Trevathan, the owner of a counseling ministry, grieved the loss of Dr. Koonce, whom she said she had gotten to know through her work with children. according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. March 28, 2023 - Nashville elementary school shooting - CNN Bodycam footage shows police entering the school amid wailing fire alarmsand immediately going to several roomsto look for the shooter. After Poile and Gatlin . Mr. Bachmann said the shooting was gut-wrenching for all in the community. There is video from the school that we are viewing now to try to learn how exactly all of this happened, Mr. Aaron said. Drake said she knew Koonce had made her mark when she saw the footage that police released from two of the responding officers' body-worn cameras. The suspect, identified by police as Audrey Hale, 28, of Nashville, had a detailed map of Covenant School, a school for students in preschool through sixth grade, and allegedly shot through the door to gain entry to the school, police said. Parents waited in disbelief to reunite with their children. Last month, the Justice Department announced a $200 million program to fund state crisis intervention programs in an effort to reduce gun violence. The school does not have a police officer guarding it, he said. "Please keep my family in your prayers tonight. 3 children and 3 adults are dead in a shooting at a Christian school in Nashville. He remembered her going carefully through each page of a math lesson, making sure that he understood every problem. Authorities believe the six victims were targeted randomly. In an interview with ABCs Nightline that month, she described how her son, who was then 6, seemed to freeze with fear when the shots rang out and the panicked crowd began running to safety. Peak was supposed to come over to Lees home Monday evening to have dinner with the first lady after filling in as a substitute teacher at Covenant, he said. A community vigil at Belmont United Methodist Church in the aftermath of a school shooting Monday in Nashville. Were enduring a very difficult moment, Mr. Lee said. As a senator in 1994, Mr. Biden negotiated a 10-year assault weapons ban as part of a broader crime bill. Families detail stress, terror and sadness after Nashville school Nashville Police Chief John Drake had said the suspect was female and identified as transgender but didn't immediately provide more details. Bill Lee said his wife, Maria, was "best friends" with Peak. No one who was shot survived, officials said. In that conversation, Mr. Scruggs acknowledged that hes in shock., Evelyns family, in a statement, called her a shining light in this world., Our hearts are completely broken, the statement said. Sports teams are honoring the people killed in a shooting at a Nashville elementary school on Monday. We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place, he said. As for the church and its teachings, Mr. Bachmann said, we were known to be conservative and biblical., You try to be loving of everybody, but the position of the Presbyterian Church in America is that homosexuality is a sin, he said. What happened: Monday's shooting unfolded over about 14 minutes, according to police, and spanned two floors of the school. During a candlelight vigil in Nashville on Wednesday evening, a former local school administrator, Tricia Drake, told ABC News that she couldn't stop thinking about her last conversation with Koonce, who she said had advised her on how to best prepare for an active shooter scenario. He is a founding member of Race/Related, and much of his work focuses on identity and discrimination. The police identified the six victims as Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney, all 9; Mike Hill, 61, a school custodian; Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher; and Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school. He said he was horrified and deeply saddened by the shooting, which he called a tragedy for the city of Nashville and its many communities, including here at Vanderbilt from members of our community who have children, or know children or staff, at Covenant to colleagues and fellow students at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who cared for the victims as well as families with school-age children who are, once again, hearing of an act of violence on school grounds.. He cowered and screamed he didnt want to get shot, he didnt want to die., The look on his face was indescribable, she recounted. Parents of Nashville shooting victims urge court to deny release of Three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at a private religious school in Nashville, authorities said. Everything we know about the Nashville elementary school shooting The . People will be praying for Covenant Presbyterian, for Chad and for that school, he said. There was confusion about the gender identity of the assailant in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Dr. Koonce, the head of school since 2016, had previously worked at Christ Presbyterian Academy, a private school five miles away. Tennessee House Republicans sent a letter to Chief Drake on May 15 requesting that they be made public, as well as relevant medical records and toxicology reports, so that they could review them before a special session in August to consider public safety legislation. "We ended up using the same active shooter training at the school where I was also a head. Nashville Tennessean. The Republicans who control state government, led by Gov. Two officers then opened fire, killing the shooter at10:27 a.m. local time, Aaron said. The Nashville school shooting. Authorities believe the six victims were targeted randomly. But it's not the guns right ? In aGallup surveyfrom October 2022, a 57% majority of all Americans said that laws covering the sale of firearms should be made more strict, with 32% saying laws should be kept as they were and 10% that laws should be made less strict. Young Americans views are generally similar to those of the public as a whole. Emily Cochrane,Ben Shpigel,Michael Levenson and Jesus Jimnez. "We are with you. Demonstrating how frequent such shootings have become, her family happened to be on a vacation in Tennessee visiting her sister-in-law on Monday when yet another shooting took place in their vicinity, this one claiming the lives of three children and three adults. A police officer walks by an entrance to The Covenant School after a shooting in Nashville, Tenn., March 27, 2023. The head of the school and the daughter of the churchs pastor are among the dead. Nashville School Shooting: What We Know - The New York Times The assailant was being treated by a doctor for an emotional disorder. Parents of Covenant School children have asked that the writings not be released until at least after the school year ends, if at all. the Covenant School, a small, private Christian school. A shooting at a private religious grade school in Nashville, Tennessee, left three adults and three 9-year-olds dead on March 27. The shooting suspect, 28, drove this Honda Fit to the Covenant Church/school campus Monday morning and parked, authorities said. 27, 2023. "I'm sure they had run those drills, and it's because of Katherine and the foresight she had to make sure her staffers were prepared.". a gunman killed 11 people at a dance studio. The attacker who fatally shot three children and three staff members at a Nashville school on Monday was identified as a former student at the school who the police said appeared to have written a manifesto about the attack and drawn maps of the campus. Mike Hill, 61, who was killed in the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville where he worked, was the father of seven children and had 14 grandkids,his family said in a statement obtained by CNN affiliateWSMV. Here's what aCBS News pollfound last summer: AnAugust 2022 AP-NORC pollsimilarly found that 85% favored a federal law requiring background checks on all potential gun buyers, including private sales and gun shows, while 59% favored a nationwide ban on the sale of AR-15 rifles and similar semiautomatic weapons. May God comfort all who mourn.. Surveillance video shows an attacker whom the police identified as Audrey E. Hale driving up to the Covenant School in Nashville, and then shooting out the entrance doors to get into the building. CNN's Taliah Miller and Jillian Sykes contributed reporting to this post. On April 6, the House Republican supermajority voted to expel Representatives Pearson and Jones for their role in the protest. Nashville school shooting: Shooter Audrey Hale hid guns from parents "We are grateful for the prayers of many on our behalf, and we pray for the families of the six others who died.". ", In another statement, the family told ABC News that they "are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department on Monday night released images of three weapons, as well as footage of the suspect driving and parking at the building, allegedly shooting through the door and walking around inside the facility while holding a gun. "Cindy was supposed to come over to have dinner with Maria last night after she filled in as a substitute teacher yesterday at Covenant.". The pupils dressed in the school uniform of red and black polo shirts, plaid skirts and khaki shorts and pants held hands as they walked from the buses, escorted by the police, into a conference-like room inside the church. The shooter was. It has about 200 students in preschool through sixth grade and a student-to-teacher ratio of eight to one. President Joe Biden called the shooting "a family's worst nightmare.". The police received a report of the shooting at 10:13 a.m. and heard gunshots on the second floor when they arrived at the school, a police spokesman, Don Aaron, said. But according to a social media post and a LinkedIn profile, the shooter appeared to identify as male in recent months. Last summer, Congress passed a bipartisan bill that bolstered background checks for potential gun buyers under the age of 21 and pumped federal money into states to put in place so-called red flag laws, which allow officials to temporarily confiscate guns from people found in court to be unfit to possess them. The shooter, who police said was a 28-year-old . Reporting was contributed by Rick Rojas, Eliza Fawcett, Jesus Jimnez, Ruth Graham, Ben Shpigel, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Michael Levenson, Jamie McGee, Mary Beth Gahan and Neelam Bohra. 27, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. A police chaplain stands by as children from The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., are taken to a reunification site at the Woodmont Baptist Church after a shooting at their school, Mar. "In this dark hour let us support each other," he said during a news conference. The school, a stately stone building on a hill in an affluent area of Nashville, is intentionally small, according to its website. The building was locked down, but two young students were still missing. I never would have imagined this.. Chief Drake said that the assailant was at one point a student at the school. Nashville officers arrive at the school, Police Chief John Drake said. In its own statement, the Predators said the team is moving "forward with heavy hearts in preparation" for Tuesday's game. The other two were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney. ABC News' Alex Faul, Molly Nagle, James Hill and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report. The victims: The victims of the shooting include Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9; Mike Hill, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; Cynthia Peak, 61; Hallie Scruggs, 9; and William Kinney, 9. Evelyn Dieckhaus is seen in this undated photo. A car found near the school helped authorities identify the suspect, and authorities responded to the suspect's home, Drake said. Police said the school does not have a school resource officer. Mario Dennis, one of the kitchen staff at the Covenant School, sitting near the entrance at the facility in Nashville on Monday. Some parents took to social media in the wake of the Covenant School shooting to express their frustration of yet another mass shooting. Alex Apple told ABC News Live that his mother works at the school's front desk, and she was at her car when she got an alert saying to shelter in place. The attacker entered the school by shooting through one of the doors, the authorities said, and was armed with three guns, including an AR-style rifle, an AR-style pistol and a handgun. Nashville Christian school shooting leaves 3 children, 3 adults dead The school shooting, which occurred around 10:13 a.m., is believed to be the fifth in the Nashville area since 2011, and first since 2018. Police first received a call about an active shooter inside Covenant school at10:13 a.m. local time, police spokesperson Don Aaron said, and rushed to the scene. The shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, was killed by police. Hallie Scruggs was a third-grader at the Covenant School and classmates with Evelyn Dieckhaus, who was also killed, according to her father, Chad Scruggs. It opened the school, which is attached, in 2001. Nashville Mayor John Cooper thanked first responders for their swift action and called on Nashville residents to reach out and help one another. The current pastor is Chad Scruggs, whose 9-year-old daughter, Hallie, was killed in the shooting. Law enforcement was investigating on Monday after the shooting at the Covenant School. Youve got it.. Joseph Fisher, a truck driver, learned of Dr. Koonces death while driving between Arizona and Utah. Nashville private school shooting suspect had maps of building and And she was a close friend of the wife of Gov. Investigators were still searching for a motive in the killing of six people at the Covenant School. The authorities were reviewing writings, and had made contact with the shooters father, Chief Drake said. The footage is from the body-worn cameras of officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo, who police said fatally shot the attacker on Monday at 10:27 a.m. local time. Authorities said the suspect entered the school through a side entrance and went from the first floor to the second floor, firing multiple shots. In 2019, the denomination affirmed what is called the Nashville Statement, a conservative statement on sexuality and gender, as a biblically faithful declaration., The denominations own report on gender and sexuality, prepared in 2020, refers to the sinfulness of homosexual and transgender desire as well as conduct.. The president calls on Congress to do something before another child is senselessly killed in another act of gun violence, Ms. Jean-Pierre said. The Presbyterian Church in America, an evangelical group founded in the 1970s, broke from a larger Presbyterian body over issues including the ordination of women, which the P.C.A. Bill Lee said. So far this year, the nation has witnessed the . Thats similar to a 2018 poll by the Institute of Politics (IOP) at the Harvard Kennedy School taken in the wake of the Parkland shooting when 64% of young Americans thought gun laws should be made more strict. Drake also said authorities believe the suspect was a former student. A regular Monday. Part of the training, she said, is to throw students out of windows and run away as far as possible. The Nashville Fire Department said on Twitter that a reunification area had been set up at a nearby church for parents to meet their children. Reporting was also contributed by Sarah Mervosh, Emily Schmall, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Daniel Victor, Ruth Graham and Victoria Kim. ", "We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our church and school," the statement read, in part. Please enable JavaScript for a better experience. "My last conversation with her, in August, was about who she used for her active shooter training because I know that she would have researched somebody," Drake said in a tearful interview. ", "It is comforting and uplifting for all of us," they said. The school does not have a police officer guarding it, Mr. Aaron said. Drake told ABC News that she believes Koonce's preparations saved lives on Monday. The church started the school in part because worshipers were finding it difficult to enroll their children in other private schools in the area, according to Jim Bachmann, a former pastor there. The suspect was shot and killed by authorities in a lobby area on the second floor of the school roughly 14 minutes after the 911 call was placed, according to police. An effort to expel Representative Johnson fell short by one vote. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, told reporters at a news briefing on Monday that there were no plans for Mr. Biden to address congressional Republicans directly on the issue. They are mostly figuring out how they are going to talk to their children going forward about this, Ms. Elrod said. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The US is the only developed country where mass shootings have happened every single year for the past 20 years, according to Jason R. Silva, an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice at William Paterson University. I can't believe that was my last conversation with her.". How political leaders and gun control groups have responded to the shooting. Biden ordered flags at half-staff through Friday to honor the victims. We are about more than simply educating our students we are participating in the miracle of their development and seeing them transform into who they will be, she wrote. The shooting happened at a private Christian school. He also served as an editor on the International Desk. Police officers investigated a house following a mass shooting at Covenant School, in Nashville on Monday. Children from The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., hold hands as they are taken to a reunification site after a deadly shooting at their school, March 27, 2023. There have been more shootings at this point in 2023 than in any previous year since at least 2013. On Wednesday, a 17-year-old student shot two administrators and later killed himself in Denver. In response to a reporters question about whether the attackers gender identity was connected to the shooting, Chief Drake said, Were investigating all the leads.. There was confusion about the shooters gender identity in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Most incidents of gun violence on school campuses, including active shooter incidents, happen at high schools.