MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

'We will bring change!' Hundreds join to honor and mourn victims of Nashville school shooting

Audrey Hale, 28, stormed into The Covenant school and killed 3 students, the custodian, the headmistress, and a substitute teacher

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Hundreds of heartbroken people gathered for a candlelight vigil on Wednesday, March 29, to honor and mourn the six people, including three children killed in the Nashville school shooting earlier this week. The shooter Audrey Hale, 28, was born female but chose to identify with he/him pronouns and preferred to go by the name Aiden. Hale stormed into The Covenant school wielding two 'assault-style rifles' and a pistol, killing 9-year-old students Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus, and William Kinney, along with custodian Mike Hill and substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, both aged 61, and headmistress Katherine Koonce, 60.

A tearful crowd protested holding candles in heavy silence as first lady Jill Biden, faith leaders, law enforcement officials, and grieving family members emerged from the Metro Nashville Courthouse doors. "To the parents, the friends, the families of those we lost, you are not alone," Nashville Mayor John Cooper told the crowd. "A grieving city joins you. A grieving country."

RELATED ARTICLES

'Get her out NOW': Katie Hobb's press secretary Josselyn Berry slammed for promoting gun violence amid Nashville school shooting

Audrey Hale fifth on list of female school shooters after Nashville tragedy

Sheryl Crow and Margo Price sang at the vigil

Sheryl Crow sang 'I Shall Believe' and ended with the lyrics from a Dionne Warwick song, 'What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love'. Margo Price sang a cappella version of 'Tears of Rage'. And Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show led the crowd in the Christian hymn, 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken', which broke the crows into tears. "Parents sent their children to school on Monday morning expecting them to return home like any other day," said Pulley, who represents the Green Hills neighborhood home to The Covenant School. "Unfortunately, three of those children and three staff members did not. Members of the Covenant staff laid down their lives attempting to protect the children in their care," according to The Tennessean.

What was said at vigil for The Covenant school shooting victims?

Shaundelle Brooks, who lost her 23-year-old son, Akilah Dasilva, in the 2018 Nashville Waffle House shooting, was one of the attendees at the vigil as she came to express her support. “I know what it’s like to be a parent — what it feels like, like you’re drowning and can’t move, and that weakness and that hole that comes in your stomach,” she said. There was also no talk of gun control reforms or gender identity at the vigil as everyone united in their grief to remember the slain victims. 

Nashville Mayor John Cooper thanked the first lady for "dropping everything and coming to Nashville" and the US president for lowering flags to half-staff to honor the victims. The POTUS also came to Nashville after a trip to Greene County, Ohio.

'I don't wish for change because change requires action, not wishes!'

Internet users sympathized with the crowd and the victims, yet they fumed with rage over the country's lack of action to prevent the violence. One user wrote, "The World is Praying for the Covenant School Victims, Families and the City of Nashville, Tennessee And So Proud of our Metropolitan Nashville Police Officers." Another added, "This march needs to go all the way to Washington, DC to DEMAND lawmakers ban AR-15s and pass gun safety laws to protect our CHILDREN from dying from gun violence & the mental anguish of fearing for their lives every day." A third claimed, "God rest their souls. I want to be sympathetic to those who want gun reform, but my logic is holding me back. It’s so disingenuous to think that those who are willing to kill CHILDREN would allow laws to stand in their way." "I wish I could join them. I wish this didn't exist. I don't wish for change because change requires action, not wishes. Vote like the life of your sister... your brother... your child depends on it. We will bring change. One way or another, we will bring change," read another comment. "I hope this is a protest for gun legislation reform? Or is this a Thoughts and Prayers Walk? A Do Nothing Walk? A Such A Shame Walk? A Better Them Than My Gun Rights Walk?" tweeted an angry user.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.