It’s happened again – the shooting and killing of innocent children by a person with evil intent. None of it makes sense and none of it can be forgiven. Families are left with a vacancy in their lives as their loved ones are taken from them in a violent act that came without warning and for no reason.
This time, it was in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Covenant School, a private Presbyterian parochial academy. Three children and three adults were killed. The shooter, a woman who thought she was a man, was a former student of the school and, according to police, was in treatment for an emotional disorder.
There is speculation that she resented the Christian school and the fact that her parents didn’t respect her sexual decisions. In fact, there are allegations that Christians and their beliefs are ultimately responsible for her actions.
As though any of that, even if true, warranted the decision to kill innocents. And, make no mistake, it was a decision. The shooter had written a plan of intent, came to the location armed with three weapons – a rifle, a pistol and a handgun – and she knew the layout of the school. In fact, she originally considered another school but decided against it because its security was too tight. She apparently decided this school was a softer target. She was right.
Police response was rapid, and the officers were ready for what they faced. As the search of the school began, they heard shots from the second floor, aimed at police from windows. Body camera footage shows Officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo as they raced up the stairs and confronted the shooter in an atrium near a window. In the gunfight that followed, both officers shot the killer and put an end to her. Records show that this happened 14 minutes after the first emergency call for help.
There is a warning on the online video suggesting that those who might be bothered by seeing the shooting should avoid it.
I disagree with that kind of thinking. I think such videos should be required for all Americans to see and discuss with their families. This is a situation that happens too often in our country. We need to see and know how our law enforcement personnel respond and how they put their lives at risk to put an end to the crisis.
I watched the PBS video and was impressed at the bravery and dedication of Officers Engelbert and Collazo as they did their job: put an end to the killer – and they did just that.
Without them and officers like them, deranged people would win the battle – and it is, have no doubt, a battle. It’s right against wrong, and there is no way we can allow “wrong” to win, though as we have seen, they keep trying.
The Gun Violence Archive reports that there have been 130 “mass shootings” in this country so far this year. That is 130 too many – leaving too many broken hearts.
A statement was issued by the school Monday, saying, “Our community is heartbroken. We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our school and church.”
A memorial service was held, and funerals are just beginning to be held for the victims.
Three students were killed, all 9 years old: Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. Three adults also were killed: Katherine Koonce, 60, head of the school; Cynthia Peaks, 61, a substitute teacher; and Mike Hill, 61, the school janitor, for 14 years. He was the father of seven children and 15 grandchildren.
There is no way to calculate the grief.
There were and continue to be statements of condolence and messages of sympathy from politicians and laymen alike. As always after such incidents, we hear calls for more restrictions on guns and their ownership. Nothing is said about restrictions on the people using the weapons.
The calls in Washington are “DO SOMETHING!” The dilemma is, “do what, where, when and to whom?” No one has an answer to these questions, and so we are left where we began.
Nashville police report that the shooter had legally purchased seven guns from five different legal gun dealers. She brought three of them to the school attack. Her parents said they knew she had returned one of the guns, but they say they didn’t know she still had any others.
She did have them; she knew how to use them; and she did.
Dare I say it: I’m glad she’s dead. It’s only regrettable that her death didn’t happen sooner.
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