By OSV News
Officials of the Diocese of Nashville called news of a mass shooting and loss of life at a private Christian school in the city on March 27 heartbreaking and “deeply sad and shocking” and urged prayers for the victims and their families.
Six individuals, including three children, were fatally shot during the mid-morning hours at The Covenant School in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville. The private Christian school educates students in preschool through sixth grade and was founded as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church.
The shooter, identified as a 28-year-old female armed with two assault-type rifles, died following interactions with officers who had responded to the scene.
“My heart breaks with news of the school shooting at The Covenant School this morning,” Bishop J. Mark Spalding of Nashville said in a statement posted to social media. “Let us pray for the victims, their families, and the Covenant Presbyterian community.”
Representatives from the Diocese of Knoxville responded to the post saying, “Our prayers are with the victims, their families, and the people of Nashville.”
Bishop Spalding celebrated the 5:30 p.m. Mass March 27 at the Cathedral of the Incarnation to pray for the victims of the shooting and the school.
“The news of the shooting and loss of lives at The Covenant School this morning is deeply sad and shocking,” Brian Cooper, diocesan chancellor and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “It is a painful reminder that these horrific events can happen at any time. Our own city is not immune to this violence. Across Middle Tennessee, our churches and schools continue to be vigilant as we focus on the safety and security of parishioners, students, faculty, and staff. It is a top priority.”
The Nashville school shooting is the latest of many that have plagued schools around the nation in the last several years and is even more reason why the Diocese of Nashville and the Catholic Schools Office remain vigilant to the safety protocols and practices put in place at the 16 diocesan schools and three independent Catholic schools, diocesan officials said.
Mr. Cooper said in the diocesan statement that “within the last five years, the diocese has conducted multiple comprehensive security reviews of each school and adjacent parish grounds. We have taken significant steps to continually enhance the security of our facilities in cooperation with parish leaders.”
Rebecca Hammel, superintendent of schools for the diocese, added in the statement that the diocese has “in place mandatory training for our faculty, staff, and administration” that “was established several years ago.”
“This training accompanies annual site and safety protocol reviews and regular safety drills conducted with staff and students in our schools,” she said. “We will look for opportunities to strengthen our safety protocols as we learn from the ongoing police investigation of this sad incident.”
The Covenant School shooting prompted a lockdown at all of the diocese’s Catholic schools in Davidson County, Ms. Hammel said, noting, “All of our schools work with local authorities on a regular basis, and the police departments are very good to our schools in that they will typically call our schools to let them know that something of this magnitude is happening, and then they respond with lockdowns and taking whatever precautions are necessary on campus. That certainly unfolded today.”
“This tragic event gives us all pause to re-evaluate our own protocols and to ensure that our children’s safety remains the top priority for us at all times,” she added. “It’s the core of our decision-making and the basis of what we do every given day.”
Father Ed Steiner, pastor of St. Philip the Apostle Church in Franklin, south of Nashville, posted a message to the parish Facebook page as he announced an evening rosary would be prayed for the victims at the church the night of the shooting with a dedicated Mass intention for the victims planned for the 9 a.m. Mass March 28.
In his post, Father Steiner said a local police captain conducted active shooter training “for our staff, our ushers, our ministry leaders, and anyone who was interested in the training. We took the training seriously, but there was an element of the training being only for a hypothetical situation. … Now, with another school shooting just a few miles away … such an event is no longer hypothetical.”
