NASHVILLE – Lots of gathered Wednesday evening for the citywide vigil to mourn for the three youngsters and three adults who have been killed at The Covenant Faculty in Nashville earlier this week.
The gang of mourners stood shoulder-to-shoulder holding small white candles as speaker after speaker honored the six victims. First woman Jill Biden visited Covenant earlier and stood alongside the remainder of the vigil’s attendees.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper stepped as much as the rostrum first.
“Simply two days in the past was our metropolis’s worst day,” Cooper mentioned. “… I so want we didn’t have to be right here, however we have to be right here — collectively as a neighborhood.”
To the grieving dad and mom, family and friends, Cooper mentioned they’re not alone. “A grieving metropolis joins you,” he mentioned. “A grieving nation.”
Cooper was joined by Metro Council member Russ Pulley, State Rep. Rev. Harold Love Jr., Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake, Nashville Fireplace Chief William Swann, and Rev. Clay Stauffer of Woodmont Christian Church.
Every speaker echoed the names of the victims and provided their condolences.
Mourners applauded the Nashville law enforcement officials who have been hailed as heroes for his or her swift response to the lethal capturing on the Christian elementary faculty in Inexperienced Hills.
“Mother and father despatched their youngsters to high school on Monday morning anticipating them to return dwelling like every other day,” mentioned Pulley, who represents the Inexperienced Hills neighborhood. “Sadly, three of these youngsters and three employees members didn’t. Members of the Covenant employees laid down their lives making an attempt to guard the kids of their care.”
Earlier than the vigil started, attendees had gathered on the grass plaza in downtown Nashville early and lots of mirrored on the incident and its aftermath.
“We’re all united to cease hate on this state … it will begin right here,” mentioned Devon Stewart, a 36-year-old nurse and transgender man. “You cease hate by loving your neighbor.”
Because the plaza emptied on the finish of the vigil, a bunch of individuals wearing black gathered for a “mourners stroll.” Earlier than they left, they paused to acknowledge the 146 Tennesseans killed by gun violence since January.
– Thao Nguyen
Contributing: The Tennesseean
14 MINUTES: Visible timeline of Nashville faculty capturing from break-in to police response
Developments:
►The White Home is planning for President Joe Biden to journey to Nashville within the wake of the capturing, he instructed reporters Wednesday. “As a nation, we owe these households greater than our prayers,” he mentioned Tuesday in North Carolina. “We owe them motion.”
►Tennessee lawmakers on Tuesday delayed listening to various proposed firearms payments, drawing criticism from some gun security advocates.
CLOSE FRIENDS:Tennessee Gov. Lee, spouse shut pals with sufferer; bodycam footage exhibits police confronting Nashville shooter: Updates
Two officers stopped ‘calculated and deliberate’ assault
Two law enforcement officials are being hailed as heroes for his or her position in ending the capturing rampage at an area Christian elementary faculty that left three younger youngsters and three employees members lifeless.
Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo are the officers whose physique digicam movies from inside The Covenant Faculty have been launched by the Metro Nashville Police Division. They have been amongst dozens of Metro Nashville police who descended on the constructing after the primary 911 name got here in at 10:13 a.m. Monday – an energetic shooter was roaming the varsity’s halls.
The shooter, 28-year-old former Covenant scholar Audrey Hale, was lifeless lower than quarter-hour later. Police have mentioned the assault was “calculated and deliberate.”
The physique digicam footage exhibits Engelbert armed with a rifle, taking the lead within the line of officers clearing the varsity. Engelbert fired no less than three pictures at Hale, authorities mentioned. Following intently behind Engelbert was Collazo, who fired 4 rounds at Hale. Learn extra concerning the officers beneath.
Police probing whether or not shooter had ‘resentment’ towards faculty, chief says
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake instructed CNN on Wednesday morning that regulation enforcement recovered a pocket book belonging to the shooter with roughly 60 pages in it. It was not instantly clear what number of pages contained writings, he mentioned.
“We’re nonetheless within the deep phases of investigation,” he mentioned.
Regulation enforcement was by no means contacted relating to Hale, who was being handled for an “emotional dysfunction” however was by no means “dedicated” to an establishment, Drake mentioned. The attacker might have had “some resentment” towards the varsity, which he as soon as attended, however regulation enforcement has not confirmed that, he mentioned.
– Grace Hauck
Former trainer says shooter grieved a romantic accomplice who died
Maria Colomy, a former trainer on the Nossi Faculty of Artwork & Design in Nashville, recalled Hale as a proficient artist whereas a scholar in Colomy’s social media class in 2017. Colomy remembered Hale “going above and past” on tasks and being “one of many college students I anticipated to have a job immediately.”
Colomy mentioned she noticed postings on Fb in the course of the previous yr through which Hale wrote concerning the demise of a romantic accomplice and requested to be known as by a male identify and male pronouns.
Hale had “been very publicly grieving” on Fb, Colomy mentioned. “It was throughout that grief (Hale) mentioned, ’On this individual’s honor, I’m going to be the one who I wish to be, and I wish to be known as Aiden.’”
– The Related Press
Who’s Rex Engelbert?
Engelbert, 27, is a four-year veteran of the police division. He grew up in Chicago and graduated from Loyola Academy highschool in 2014. Engelbert graduated from Ohio College of Dayton in 2018, the place he performed rugby and earned a level in prison justice. His brother, Kevin Engelbert, instructed NBC Chicago he was proud to listen to of his brother’s heroism.
“My mother all the time taught us to be courageous, and it’s virtually not stunning to see that bravery come by way of,” Kevin Engelbert mentioned. “I’ve recognized Rex to all the time be as courageous as he’s compassionate. And a delicate large.”
Who’s Michael Collazo?
Collazo, 31, has been on the pressure 9 years. The Marine Corps veteran additionally responded to the Christmas 2020 bombing in Nashville, the place Anthony Quinn Warner detonated a bomb downtown that took Warner’s life and injured eight bystanders. Police Chief John Drake mentioned Collazo has skilled as a paramedic with the SWAT staff. His sister, Deanna Collazo DeHart, instructed instructed Fox Information Digital her brother loves his job.
“I sit and take into consideration all of the coaching and all of the totally different courses that he does, and all of the household occasions that he is needed to miss due to coaching or leaving to undergo this coaching or this class,” she mentioned. “All of it actually does repay.”
CHLLLING MESSAGES:Nashville shooter despatched chilling messages to pal from Covenant Faculty car parking zone: ‘You may most likely hear about me’
Spouse of Tennessee Gov. Invoice Lee was longtime pals with two of the victims
After tragedies like Monday’s faculty capturing, politicians typically make public statements that sound trite. That was not the case with Tennessee Gov. Invoice Lee, whose household was instantly affected.
Lee mentioned his spouse, Maria Lee, was longtime pals with two of the three adults killed on the Covenant Faculty assault, substitute trainer Cindy Peak and head of faculty Katherine Koonce. The three had been lecturers collectively at one other faculty, and Peak was supposed to affix Maria Lee for dinner Monday evening.
The Republican governor known as Monday’s occasions “a tragedy past comprehension.”
“All of Tennessee was harm yesterday,” he mentioned Tuesday evening in a video handle, “however some dad and mom awakened with out youngsters, youngsters awakened with out dad and mom and with out lecturers, and spouses awakened with out their family members.
“Maria awakened this morning with out one in every of her greatest pals, Cindy Peak.”
– Melissa Brown, Nashville Tennessean
New gun legal guidelines? ‘Not gonna repair it. Criminals are going to be criminals’
The slaughter of three schoolkids underneath age 10, together with three adults who labored at their faculty, can have no impression on the nation’s gun legal guidelines.
That is the idea of lawmakers from each events, who mentioned that regardless of the most recent high-profile mass homicide, there’s hardly any likelihood President Joe Biden’s push to ban assault weapons will make it by way of a divided Congress.
As with so many comparable cases in a rustic the place mass shootings have turn out to be commonplace, requires sweeping gun reform on the federal degree is anticipated to be adopted by inaction. Republican opposition to tighter gun regulation stays staunch, and never all Democrats are on board. Biden mentioned he has performed all he can by way of government motion.
“We’re not gonna repair it,” U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., instructed reporters Monday. “Criminals are going to be criminals.”
– Joey Garrison
Shooter texted pal from car parking zone of faculty minutes earlier than bloodshed
Hale was already within the faculty car parking zone when he despatched chilling messages to a pal minutes earlier than the assault. Averianna Patton was speaking on the cellphone Monday at 9:57 a.m. when she noticed an uncommon message from Hale, her center faculty basketball teammate.
“I am planning to die right now,” Hale wrote. “You may most likely hear about me on the information.”
The messages, which Patton shared with Newschannel5, make no point out of killing others. Patton responds by making an attempt to steer Hale to not hurt himself. Patton additionally known as a suicide hotline, which directed her to the police nonemergency quantity. Patton known as police at concerning the time the capturing began and was placed on maintain for seven minutes.
“I am simply numb proper now,” Patton mentioned. “I’ve actually mind-blowing moments like, ‘What on the earth?'” Learn extra right here.
– Cassandra Stephenson, The Tennessean
Actress Melissa Joan Hart helped youngsters flee shooter
When youngsters have been fleeing The Covenant Faculty as a shooter roamed the hallways, actress Melissa Joan Hart and her husband occurred to be driving by. Hart’s youngsters go to high school close to the Covenant Faculty and he or she was on her approach there for a parent-teacher convention, she mentioned in an Instagram video posted Tuesday. Hart mentioned she and her husband helped a class of kindergarteners cross a busy highway.
“They have been climbing out of the woods. They have been making an attempt to flee the shooter state of affairs at their faculty,” she mentioned, combating again tears. “So we helped all these tiny, little, little youngsters cross the highway and get their lecturers over there and we helped a mother reunite along with her youngsters.” Learn extra right here.
Lockdowns, worry swept by way of colleges close to Covenant
Former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson East mentioned on her Instagram account that her youngsters’s Nashville faculty went on lockdown minutes after the capturing at Covenant. She mentioned her youngsters, Drew, 3, and Jett, 1, have been protected and he or she and her husband, Andrew East – a former NFL participant who performed faculty ball at Nashville’s Vanderbilt College – had retrieved them from their faculty
“I have not been capable of catch my breath since studying the information and getting a name from our college that they have been on lockdown,” East wrote within the Monday posting. “Shaking. Crying. Heartbroken. Horrific.” Learn extra right here.
Predators, Bruins hockey groups pay homage to victims
The Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins took a second to recollect the victims Tuesday evening. The Predators launched an announcement forward of the matchup at Boston’s TD Backyard, saying the staff was shifting ahead with a “heavy hearts.”
The staff additionally shared that Charlie Jacobs, Bruins CEO, donated to the Caring for Covenant Fund in response to the Nashville tragedy. Each groups’ helmets featured customized decals with the Covenant Faculty brand.
“We’re perplexed as all the Nashville and Center Tennessee neighborhood mourns these harmless lives,” the staff mentioned within the assertion. Learn extra right here.
– Dani Mohr, The Tennessean
Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY