NASHVILLE, March 29 (Reuters) – First woman Jill Biden joined a memorial vigil in Nashville on Wednesday for the three kids and three adults shot to loss of life this week at a Christian day faculty, together with two educators who had been shut associates of the Tennessee governor’s spouse.

The out of doors ceremony, attended by a number of hundred individuals, started about an hour earlier than sundown in Nashville Public Sq. Park, outdoors metropolis corridor within the state capital, Tennessee’s largest metropolis, and several other miles from the scene of Monday’s bloodbath.

The service lasted solely about half-hour, punctuated by prayers and performances from musicians Sheryl Crow, Margo Worth and Ketch Secor.

The gang sang alongside to Secor’s rendition of the favored Christian hymn “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” as he accompanied himself on banjo.

The victims’ names had been repeatedly recited in the course of the tribute – 9-year-old college students Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs, together with custodian Mike Hill, 61; the varsity’s headmaster, Katherine Koonce, 60; and substitute trainer Cynthia Peak, 61.

“Consider all of the hugs they might have had, and all of the hugs we will nonetheless give one another,” mentioned Mayor John Cooper, accompanied by quite a few native leaders and clergy. “Nashville has had its worst day. Our hearts are damaged.”

Cooper saluted cops and different first-responders, for “speeding in the direction of hazard to avoid wasting lives on our darkest day.”

The perpetrator of Monday’s carnage, former Covenant Faculty scholar Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, was fatally shot by officers storming the constructing minutes after gunfire was first reported, possible stopping a better loss of life toll.

“Our cops have cried and are crying with Nashville, and the world,” metropolis Police Chief John Drake advised mourners.

‘THERE IS PAIN’

Monday’s taking pictures, the most recent of dozens in U.S. faculties this 12 months alone, has touched a very uncooked nerve, partially as a result of three victims had been so younger and since it scorched Nashville’s tight-knit Christian group.

“Many Tennesseans are feeling the very same method: The vacancy, the lack of expertise, the determined want for solutions, the determined want for hope,” mentioned Tennessee Governor Invoice Lee in a video posted on his Twitter feed.

Lee mentioned each Koonce and Peak at one time had taught on the identical faculty as his spouse, Maria, and that the three remained shut associates for many years. Lee mentioned Peak and his spouse had deliberate to dine collectively on Monday.

“I perceive there may be ache. I perceive the desperation to have solutions, to put blame, to argue a few resolution that would forestall this horrible tragedy,” he mentioned. “This isn’t a time for hate or rage.”

Some in excessive right-wing circles have seized on the case to vilify transgender individuals, after police mentioned the shooter recognized as transgender. It has since emerged that Hale was going by the title Aiden and utilizing male pronouns on social media in latest months.

The shootings heightened anxiousness within the LGBTQ group amid strikes by Republican politicians in quite a few states to outlaw gender-affirming medical take care of transgender youth, together with a ban enacted not too long ago in Tennessee.

SMALL ARSENAL AT HOME

Drake, the police chief, mentioned investigators in search of clues to what precipitated the killings had been analyzing maps and writings in a 60-page pocket book discovered at Hale’s residence. The writings urged plans to hold out shootings at different places, however authorities have but to pinpoint a motive, Drake mentioned.

The shooter was armed on the time of the assault with two assault-style weapons and a 9mm handgun, which police later discovered had been amongst seven firearms that Hale had legally bought in recent times.

Whereas Hale focused the varsity – housed within the Covenant Presbyterian Church and serving about 200 college students from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade – the person victims had been slain at random, police have mentioned.

In a CNN interview on Wednesday, Drake mentioned it remained unclear what position, if any, Hale’s gender id, spiritual beliefs or academic background performed within the assault, stressing that the investigation was in its early phases. He mentioned earlier this week that investigators believed Hale harbored some resentment at having attended Covenant as a toddler.

“There might have been some resentment. However we have not been in a position to verify it,” Drake mentioned on Wednesday. “As of proper now, we haven’t any indication there was any issues on the faculty or residence.”

Investigators are additionally wanting on the psychological well being of the shooter, who was beneath a physician’s take care of an emotional dysfunction, Drake mentioned.

As with most high-profile mass shootings, the most recent assault has added gas to a long-running nationwide debate over gun possession rights and laws.

Tennessee doesn’t require a allow to own a firearm, no matter whether or not it’s hid or overtly carried.

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Rules.

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