Nashville school shooting – live: Evelyn Dieckhaus called ‘shining light’ as first funeral takes place

Shooter Audrey Hale’s manifesto is still to be released by Nashville police

Bodycam footage shows Nashville police searching Christian school for gunman

The funeral of Evelyn Dieckhaus, one of three nine-year-old children killed at the Covenant School shooting, took place on Friday afternoon in Nashville.

Evelyn was remembered as a “shining light” in the funeral, which was closed to the media, at the Woodmont Christian Church in the Green Hills neighbourhood of the city.

Before the service, the church’s senior minister, the Rev Clay Stauffer, described the youngster as “radiant.”

Evelyn was killed while leading her classmates to safety in response to a fire alarm seemingly tripped by the attacker, her family believes.

Services for substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, and Hallie Scruggs, nine, will be held on Saturday. Nine-year-old William Kinney's funeral will take place on Sunday, while services for Mike Hill, 61, the school’s custodian, will be held on Tuesday and the funeral for head of school Katherine Koonce, 60, will take place on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, police have released the chilling 911 calls they received from inside the Covenant School as the shooter – since identified by law enforcement as Audrey Hale, 28, a former student of the private Christian elementary school – broke into the building and opened fire.

A manifesto written by the suspect is soon expected to released by officers investigating the deadly attack.

Key Points

• Student victim gunned down while leading friends to safety, family says
• First funerals of Nashville victims to take place
• Hundreds demand gun reform at Tennessee State Capitol
• Nashville shooting 911 calls capture terror inside school: ‘I’m hearing more shots, please hurry!’
• Audrey Hale’s manifesto ‘set to be released’ as motive speculation mounts

[1 April 2023 13:02 · Graeme Massie]

‘How many children have to die like those in Nashville before the US changes its gun laws?'

For Indy Voices, here’s Victoria Richards with a timely reminder of just how obscene it is that mass shootings like Monday’s horrific events in Nashville have been allowed to become commonplace.