Two Nashville Shooting Victims Were Friends of Tennessee Guv and His Wife

Two of the victims of Monday’s faculty capturing in Nashville had been longtime household buddies of Tennessee Gov. Invoice Lee and his spouse, the governor shared in a video handle Tuesday night time.

Lee claimed that Cynthia Peak, 61, was scheduled to have dinner with Tennessee’s first woman, Maria Lee, on the governor’s mansion on Monday night time—however by no means made it. As an alternative, she was killed whereas substitute educating at The Covenant Faculty alongside 5 others, together with three youngsters. He additionally named the college’s late headmistress, Katherine Koontz, saying the three girls have been buddies for years.

“Maria wakened this morning with out certainly one of her greatest buddies,” the governor mentioned in a video posted to Twitter.

“Cindy and Maria and Katherine Koonce had been all academics on the identical faculty and had been household buddies for many years,” Lee added. He notably didn’t point out gun management or some other legislative motion particularly, merely saying that it stays too quickly to speak, however “we’ll act.”

“There’ll come a time to ask how an individual can do that,” Lee mentioned. “There’ll come a time to debate and debate coverage, however this isn’t a time for hate or rage—that won’t resolve or heal.”

The bloodshed started round 10:13 a.m. Monday morning when the shooter, later recognized as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, shot by way of one of many faculty’s locked doorways and commenced firing seemingly at random.

Police have mentioned that Hale, a former scholar who wrote a “manifesto” and possessed detailed maps of the college, might have been motivated by “resentment” about being compelled to attend Covenant—however confused that the precise motive stays unclear.

Hale, who police say recognized as transgender, was apparently being handled for an emotional dysfunction earlier than finishing up the capturing. A member of the family additionally informed The Each day Beast that Hale “comparatively not too long ago ” began utilizing he/him pronouns.

The trio of nine-year-olds killed within the capturing—Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney—all gave the impression to be random targets, authorities mentioned. Along with Peak and Koonce, one different workers member was shot useless: faculty custodian Michael Hill, a beloved father-of-seven who college students affectionately known as “Huge Mike.”