Seven people were killed, including three children, after a shooter opened fire inside a private Christian elementary school in Nashville on Monday. The victims were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all 8 or 9 years old, and adults Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61.
The shooter, who was killed by police, was armed with two “assault-style” weapons, as well as a handgun, authorities said. At least two of them were believed to have been obtained legally in the Nashville area.
The suspect is believed to be a former student at The Covenant School in Nashville, where the shooting took place.
The attack at The Covenant School comes as communities around the nation are reeling from a spate of school violence, including the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last year; a first grader who shot his teacher in Virginia; and a shooting last week in Denver that wounded two administrators.
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The Covenant School is located in the affluent Green Hills neighborhood and focuses its curriculum on biblical theology. It teaches students in pre-K through 6th grade and has about 200 students enrolled, according to the school website.
President Joe Biden called the shooting a “family’s worst nightmare” and called the shooting “heartbreaking.”
The president said he remains committed to gun reform efforts and implored Congress again to pass a ban on certain semi-automatic weapons.
“We have to do more to stop gun violence,” Biden said at a Small Business Administration event Monday afternoon. “It’s ripping our communities apart. It’s ripping at the soul of this nation.”
