A Place of Sanctuary Is Punctured by the Reality of Gun Violence in America

However this was totally different, because it kindled within the metropolis a stage of terror that different communities had confronted amid recurring mass shootings however Nashville had not. In a post on Twitter not lengthy after the taking pictures, Mayor John Cooper stated, “Nashville joined the dreaded, lengthy listing of communities to expertise a faculty taking pictures.”

The taking pictures has reverberated past Nashville, too, stoking fury and frustration and invigorating as soon as once more the nation’s divisions over violence and entry to weapons. President Biden referred to as for a ban on assault rifles, as he has accomplished after different current mass shootings — a repetition he acknowledged with a way of exasperation on Tuesday. “I can’t do something besides plead with the Congress to behave fairly,” he stated.

In Dallas, as worshipers gathered on Tuesday at Park Cities Presbyterian Church, the ache was far more private. Chad Scruggs, the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church and Hallie’s father, had been the pastor there earlier than shifting to Nashville.

“The fact is, this occasion in Nashville just isn’t merely an occasion for one college or one church or metropolis,” stated Paul Goebel, an affiliate pastor at Park Cities Presbyterian. “It touches our church, our neighborhood deeply, nevertheless it additionally impacts and touches our entire nation.”

Mr. Scruggs, who left that congregation in 2018, returned to Dallas in February to evangelise, mentioning Hallie and her three siblings sitting within the pews. “Their story, in some ways, started right here,” he stated on the time.

Mark Davis, the present pastor at Park Cities Presbyterian, stated he spoke to Mr. Scruggs on Monday afternoon; in that dialog, Mr. Scruggs acknowledged that “he’s in shock.” The congregation additionally had ties to Ms. Peak, the substitute trainer who was killed. Her sister worshiped there. Some who stood to wish for the victims throughout the vigil on Tuesday referred to Ms. Peak as “Aunt Cindy.”