Mourners gather for 1st annual Nashville school shootout | WGN Radio 720

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Family and friends of Evelyn Dieckhaus, one of three children killed in the Nashville school shooting this week, remembered her Friday as a “shining light.” , said goodbye to the art-loving girl. She cuddle with her sister in music, animals and couches.

The funeral service, which was held at the Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood, was closed to the media. Prior to her service, the church’s senior pastor, Reverend Clay Stauffer, reiterated what Evelyn’s family shared about her.

“She was a shining light. She was shining,” Stauffer told the Associated Press. “I think our challenge is to continue to receive her light and spread it into a world of darkness and pain.”

Evelyn’s was the first funeral held for victims of Monday’s Covenant school shooting, where officials say the 28-year-old former student killed six people before being shot dead by police.

The church is a few miles from the school and across from Woodmont Baptist Church, which served as a reunion site for children who survived the attack and their parents.

Dozens of people flocked to the main sanctuary of the Woodmont Christian Church for worship. Many of the women and girls wore pink dresses, “in honor of Evelyn’s love of light and color,” in honor of the grieving family’s request to dress in pink and green.

With the pinkish-purple flowers of the redbud tree in bloom and mourners dressed in pastel colors, it’s as much an Easter service as the funeral of a 9-year-old girl who brought joy and comfort to her loved ones It looked like

Two other children killed in the attack, Harry Scruggs and William Kinney, were also nine years old. Her three adults killed were 60-year-old principal, Katherine Koons, and 61-year-old guardian, Mike Hill. , and Cynthia Peak, a 61-year-old substitute teacher.

In an obituary provided to the Associated Press by a family friend, Evelyn was described as a “constant beacon of joy” who loved to craft and paint, played with her two dogs, Marble and Birdie, and Taylor.・I sang along to Swift and Broadway songs. She shows “Hamilton” and plays with her beloved older sister Eleanor.

Minister Stauffer said he called Evelyn’s family “incredible people” and was trying to show that they weren’t the only ones with the problem.

“We celebrate her life this afternoon and will be there to love and support her family afterward,” he said.

That work began as soon as ambulances, fire engines and police cars drove past his church on the day of the shooting. He went across the street to Woodmont His Baptist to reunite his frightened children with their parents.

“It was a surreal, nightmare waiting for us to wake up,” Stauffer said. “It’s been one of the most difficult weeks you can imagine.”

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Associated Press reporter Adrian Sainz in Memphis contributed to this report.

https://wgnradio.com/news/national/mourners-gather-for-1st-nashville-school-shooting-funeral/ Mourners gather for 1st annual Nashville school shootout | WGN Radio 720

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