Daily Beast
‘Radiant’ 9-Year-Old Killed While Leading Nashville Classmates to Safety, Family Believes
Eileen Grench – March 30, 2023
A 9-year-old girl killed during the deadly school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee may have been leading her classmates to safety after a fire alarm was tripped when the killer entered the school, her aunt told The Daily Beast.
Evelyn Dieckhaus’ aunt said that while exact details of Evelyn and other victims’ final moments are still unclear, she heard her “radiant” niece died after leading her classmates in what she possibly thought was a fire drill.
“We’re finding out the shooter may have pulled the fire alarm to get kids out of their classroom. Evelyn being one of the class leaders was at the front of the line assuming fire drill,” read a private Instagram post provided to The Daily Beast by the aunt, Kelly Dorrance.
“She was trying to lead her classmates to safety and possibly didn’t hear the shouts to come back in the room. Things children should never worry about,” read the post.
Evelyn, Dorrance told The Daily Beast, was “radiant—a beacon of joy in our family. She had a calm confidence and a natural sense of purpose—alongside a whip smart sense of humor and a sly little smile.”
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department confirmed to The Daily Beast on Thursday that their investigation currently indicates “that the alarm originated from the area of the shooter’s entry” at The Covenant School on Monday morning.
Contrary to some reports that Dieckhaus was killed as she tried to pull the fire alarm, MNPD spokesman Don Aaron told The Daily Beast Thursday, “The investigation at present does not support a ‘pulling’ of the alarm.” MNPD declined to comment on whether Dieckhaus was killed while leading a fire drill from the classroom.
The other two 9-year-old victims were identified by police as William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs. Three school staff were also killed: 61-year-old custodian Mike Hill; head of school Katherine Koonce; and substitute teacher Cynthia Peak.
Harrowing body-camera footage released on Tuesday showed officers Michael Collazo and Rex Engelbert rushing into the school and following the sounds of gunfire to the second floor.
Once upstairs, Engelbert and Collazo saw the shooter, Audrey Hale, standing in front of a window, and opened fire. Hale was killed within 14 minutes of the initial call to police.
Dorrance said the death of her niece is a “nightmare you can’t wake up from,” but told The Daily Beast by text message that ”the support and love our family has received has proved that humanity is, ultimately, good.”
“How our country puts assault rifles in the hands of civilians, I’ll never understand. We are in disbelief. Devastated. Heartbroken. Sick,” she said on Instagram.
And though the family is grieving, they want to make sure Evelyn’s memory will live on, Dorrance told The Daily Beast: “After we get through this initial phase of grief, we’re committed to make her memory an important one that will save the lives of other children.”
Related:
Funerals begin for 6 victims of Nashville school shooting
ABC News
Emily Shapirof – March 31, 2023
Mourners will gather on Friday for the first of six funerals in the wake of Monday’s mass shooting at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee.
Friends and family of 9-year-old victim Evelyn Dieckhaus were asked to wear pink and green to her funeral service on Friday afternoon.
“Our hearts are completely broken,” the Dieckhaus family said in a statement. “We cannot believe this has happened. Evelyn was a shining light in this world.”
MORE: Nashville school shooting updates: Slain head of school lauded for her forethought
The service for 9-year-old victim Hallie Scruggs will be on Saturday. Hallie’s funeral will be at Covenant Presbyterian Church — the church connected to the school where she was killed and where her father, Chad Scruggs, is a senior pastor.
Chad Scruggs told ABC News in a statement, “We are heartbroken. She was such a gift. Through tears we trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again.”
Saturday will also be the visitation and service for 61-year-old Cynthia Peak, who was a substitute teacher at The Covenant School.
Her family called her “a pillar of the community, and a teacher beloved by all her students.”
“Her favorite roles in life were being a mom to her three children, a wife to her husband, and an educator to students,” Peak’s family said in a statement. “We will never stop missing her.”
The service for the third child killed, 9-year-old Will Kinney, will take place on Sunday.
On Tuesday, beloved school custodian, 61-year-old Mike Hill, will be laid to rest.
He was a father of seven and a grandfather of 14.
MORE: Nashville school shooting: What to know about the 6 victims
“We pray for the Covenant School and are so grateful that Michael was beloved by the faculty and students who filled him with joy for 14 years,” his family said in a statement.
Former student Bex Lithgow called Hill “the kindest soul who loved all the students so much.”
The final funeral service will be on Wednesday for 60-year-old Katherine Koonce, the head of the school.
“Katherine was devoted to her family, her friends, and especially the children she cared for. She gave her life to protect the students she loved,” Koonce’s family said in a statement. “It is our privilege to honor Katherine’s legacy and to celebrate her remarkable spirit.”
MORE: Timeline: How the shooting at Covenant School unfolded
A former local school administrator, Tricia Drake, told ABC News that her last conversation with Koonce was in August, discussing companies they used for active shooter training.
Drake said she knew Koonce had initiated her active shooter protocols on Monday when she saw footage police released from two of the responding officers’ body cameras. One of the videos shows a Covenant School staff member meeting an officer at the school’s main entrance, telling him, “The kids are all locked down, but we have two kids that we don’t know where they are.” The staffer is then seen using a key to unlock the door so officers could go inside.
“Students were in their classrooms, locked up, the professional outdoors to lead the Metro policeman. She had a key, what her headcount was, she knew exactly where the students would be, she was prepared,” Drake said. “I’m sure they had run those drills, and it’s because of Katherine and the foresight she had to make sure her staffers were prepared.”
ABC News’ Steph Wash, Morgan Winsor and Miles Cohen contributed to this report.