The pastor of a Nashville church is mourning the death of his daughter after a former student, Audrey Hale, opened fire on March 27, People reported.
Nine-year-old Hallie Scruggs, the daughter of Covenant Presbyterian Church Pastor Chad Scruggs, was one of six victims shot at The Covenant School, according to People.com. The Covenant School was founded by Covenant Presbyterian Church in 2001, according to the school’s website. (RELATED: Six Killed After Female Shooter Opens Fire At Nashville Private School)
REST IN PEACE: Hallie Scruggs was the daughter of Chad Scruggs, the senior pastor at the Covenant Presbyterian Church, which shares a location with the Covenant School. She was one of the six victims in the fatal Nashville shooting. 💔 https://t.co/5oS6InwhIP pic.twitter.com/DZrJBvsJr9
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) March 28, 2023
The 28-year-old suspect shot Hallie and two other children, along with three adults. Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney, both nine-years-old, Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61 were all killed in the shooting. Hale was a former student of the school, according to the New York Post.
During times like these, we hear so much about the names of the monsters who commit these heinous crimes, so let’s lift up the victims. Remember their names.
William Kinney, 9
Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9
Hallie Scruggs, 9
Katherine Koonce, 60
Cynthia Peak, 61
Mike Hill, 61 pic.twitter.com/8PtpHBmqPS— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 28, 2023
Three weeks before the shooting, on March 5, Chad Scruggs shared a sermon called Death’s Conqueror.
“A strong confidence in the end of the story does not undo or justify the absence of grief in the middle. A mature faith adds its tears to the sadness in our world. Jesus said ‘blessed are those who mourn’ all the while not losing confidence in how that sadness will eventually be overcome in Him,” he said.
Scruggs is also the former pastor of Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas, the church told WFAA.
“Our community is heartbroken. We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our school and church. We are focused on loving our students, our families, our faculty and staff and beginning the process of healing,” The Covenant School said in a press release. “We appreciate the outpouring of support we have received, and we are tremendously grateful to the first responders who acted quickly to protect our students, faculty and staff. We ask for privacy as our community grapples with this terrible tragedy — for our students, parents, faculty and staff.”