Days after a shooter opened fire at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, friends and family fondly remember the three children and three adults who died in the senseless tragedy. Former student Audrey Hale, 28, shot out a side door at the school on Monday to get in and proceeded to shoot and kill six people, ultimately losing her life in a shoot-out with police. The latest attack on our children is the deadliest of its kind in nearly a year and has shaken the entire country.
The Covenant School issued a statement regarding the shooting and the tremendous grief they are experiencing as a community. The statement said they are "in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our school and church." Today, the focus shifts from evil to the victims who lost their lives and the friends and family they left behind, as more details are emerging about who they were. Here's what we know so far about the victims of The Covenant school shooting:
Head of School, Katherine Koonce
Koonce, 60, was a consummate educator and protector of her students. According to Nashville County Councilman Russ Pulley, via Fox News, Koonce was on a Zoom call when she heard the first shot. A witness reported Koonce immediately went for the shooter. Pulley explained that Koonce was trained to protect her school and that a confrontation undoubtedly ensued between Koonce and Hale, but the details are unknown.
"She did what principals and headmasters do; she protected her children," Pulley said. "In addition, she prepared the school by seeking advanced-level active-shooter training, and from witnesses at the scene, this protocol – details of which I cannot provide – saved countless lives."
Parents and friends shared memories of Koonce, who they say was known for greeting each student in the morning by name, and the children loved her, according to WKRN.
Stephana Greene, a Covenant School parent, described the beloved principal, saying, "She loved God and she loved people. So, it doesn't surprise me at all that she died protecting people."
School Custodian Mike Hill
Fox News reported that Hill, 61, was killed as Hale entered the building through a locked door and began shooting.
"I don't know the details yet. But I have a feeling, when it all comes out, Mike's sacrifice saved lives," Tim Dunavant, a pastor at Hartsville First United Methodist Church who hired Hill at the Covenant School 13 years ago, wrote in an online post on Monday, according to Fox News. "I have nothing factual to base that upon. I just know what kind of guy he was. And I know he's the kind of guy that would do that."
Hill's daughter, Brittany Hill, posted about her father on Facebook, saying her family is devastated.
"Today my dad lost his life at The Covenant School/Church. A job that everyone knows he absolutely loved," she shared in the post. "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 will not say her name because I will not glorify her actions."
A GoFundMe account has raised more than $400,000 in Hill's honor thus far.
Substitute Teacher Cynthia Peak
Peak, 61, was substituting at Covenant the day of the shooting but had plans to meet with Tennessee first lady Maria Lee for dinner in the afternoon. Gov. Bill Lee shared a video Tuesday evening, explaining their relationship and the family's most recent plans.
According to the Daily Mail, Lee shared that Koonce was also a friend of his wife's. The women taught together and had been friends for a long time.
"We're enduring a very difficult moment," Lee said. "But this is not a time for hate and rage. That will not resolve or heal." He added, "We will act to prevent this from happening again."
Peak was married and left behind three children and a husband.
Student Hallie Scruggs
Scruggs was the daughter of Chad Scruggs, pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church, which runs the school. Her father told ABC News in a statement that his daughter was "such a gift."
"We are heartbroken," the statement reads. "Through tears we trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again."
Scruggs' aunt, Kara Scruggs Arnold, shared a photo of her niece with her son on Facebook and wrote about their bond.
"To watch her these past 9 years has been a gift and a privilege. I have often longed for a daughter and Hallie embodied all of those things I'd want in my own little girl," she said. "She was incredibly smart, feisty enough to keep up with her 3 brothers and my 4 boys, a love for life that kept her smiling and running and jumping and playing and always on the go," she wrote.
Student Evelyn Dieckhaus
Dieckhaus, 9, was the daughter of a Nashville ophthalmologist at Guardian Eye Associates, Dr. Michael Dieckhaus. He and wife Katy are also parents to an older daughter, Eleanor, according to MEAWW. Dieckhaus reportedly tried to pull the fire alarm in an attempt to stop her classmates from being killed.
The Daily Wire reported Eleanor said at a candlelight vigil, "I don't want to be an only child."
"One of the 9-year-old victims of the Nashville school shooting goes to my church, Her name is Evelyn Dieckhaus. She was adorable," Sarah Drury, a Sunday school teacher at Woodmont Christian Church, wrote in a now-private Facebook post.
"I taught her equally angelic big sister in Sunday school. Her mom Katy volunteered in our children's ministry … such a sweet Christian family," she continued. "We had a prayer vigil tonight at our church. We are, the whole city, saturated in grief. Now. It's time to marry prayer and grief with action."
More From CafeMom: Here's How Expert Child Psychologists Say We Should Talk to Kids About School Shootings
Student William Kinney
There is not much known about Kinney, 9, who is the son of Erin Kinney.
"Tonight one of my Union Sisters is grieving the loss of her 9 year old child murdered today in Nashville while attending school trying to be a normal kid and get an education," friend Suzanne Sapp wrote on Facebook. "Erin Kinney will never get to hold her son again. Her 9 year old son left for school this morning and is never coming home again."
"Will had an unflappable spirit," read a post on a now-deleted GoFundMe page, according to Independent. "He was unfailingly kind, gentle when the situation called for it, quick to laugh, and always inclusive of others. He loved his sisters, adored his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and was always excited to host friends of every age. Sweet Will knew no strangers, and our hearts our broken for his family as they try to find their way forward."
