Nashville Covenant School shooting: Students, staff to mark anniversary with private event

It has been a year since three students and three staff members — 9-year-olds Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs, headmaster Katherine Koonce, custodian Mike Hill and substitute teacher Cynthia Peak — at the Covenant School were gunned down in a mass shooting.

There have been vigils, rallies and cries for stricter gun control. Two legislators were expelled, and ultimately reappointed, for their protests on the House floor. And despite a special session, no major action was taken on gun control in Tennessee.

Community members are are still calling for change a year later.

Follow for updates as Nashville remembers the six victims.

More: In a dark year, how a local church gave the Covenant School hope: ‘A beacon in our valley’

'Solace in the light': Covenant School marks one year since shooting with private ceremony

A year later, "the pain is still very real," the Covenant School said in a statement.

The school will hold a private event "to prioritize the well-being and healing of our students, families, teachers, and staff," the school said.

“As we mark this painful anniversary, we find solace in the light that has emerged from the darkness. It is with profound gratitude that we acknowledge the overwhelming outpouring of love and support we have received from our local Nashville community and around the world," the school said. "Your kindness has been a beacon of hope, and the depth of your generosity profoundly moves us. We continue to see all of the ways in which the Lord is providing for and loving our community. He has been and will continue to be our comfort and strength.”

Thousands expected to mark Covenant School with human chain

The nonpartisan group Voices for a Safer Tennessee, which formed in the fallout of the shooting, will host a demonstration stretching from Centennial Park to the Tennessee State Capitol at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The demonstration, "Linking Arms for Change," will feature thousands of people forming a human chain over the course of the four-mile path.

"Voices for a Safer Tennessee asks the community to wear red and link arms to honor the memory of the Covenant victims and the hundreds of Tennessee lives lost to preventable firearm tragedies over the last year," a release from the group said. "This event will demonstrate the hope felt by Tennesseans that together we can strengthen policies that will lead to safer communities across our state."

Covenant School to return home after nearly a year at Brentwood Hills

In the days after the shooting, Brentwood Hills Church of Christ opened their doors to the Covenant School as a place to heal and find some semblance of normalcy.

The 1,000-member congregation moved meetings to free up space and converted small Bible study rooms into classrooms with books, bulletin boards and other supplies.

“In the darkest of days, we have to look for the light,” Covenant School first grade teacher Kellie Reifenberger said. “Our alma mater at Covenant says we’re a beacon on a hill, and these people have been a beacon in our valley.”

In April, Covenant School will return home after almost a year on the makeshift Brentwood Hills campus.

Covenant School shooting leaves six dead

A 10:11 a.m. on March 27, 2023, a gunman shot out a glass door at the Covenant School, gaining entrance to the private, Christian elementary school.

Minutes later, the shooter, a former Covenant School student, had killed the three students and three staff members as others fled or sheltered in place.

Metro Nashville police killed the shooter 14 minutes after the initial call to 911.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Covenant School shooting live updates: Look at Students, gun reform