Details of the rich, fulfilling lives of the three adults who were killed Monday at a Nashville elementary school have surfaced quickly in the aftermath, but information about the three 9-year-old children – whose lives ended tragically young – has been slower to become public community buried in mourning.
Hallie Scruggs family handout
The children killed at Covenant School were Hallie Scruggs, described by an aunt as “always on the go,” Evelyn Dieckhaus, the “shining light” of her family, and William Kinney, whose family has said little publicly.
A woman posing as Hallie’s aunt, Kara Scruggs Arnold, wrote on Facebook that Hallie was “incredibly smart and feisty enough to keep up with her 3 brothers and my 4 boys.”
Hallie had a “love of life that made her smile and run, jump and play and always be on the go,” Arnold added in her post.
Metro Nashville Police Department Police Chief John Drake spoke Tuesday after his department spoke to the parents of the shooter at the Nashville school on Monday.
Hallie’s father, Chad Scruggs, is the senior pastor of the Covenant Presbyterian Church, which is affiliated with the Covenant School. The private Christian school has about 200 students from preschool through sixth grade and about 50 employees, according to its website.
The Dieckhaus family Evelyn Dieckhaus
Evelyn was described as the “light of the Dieckhaus family” on a GoFundMe page set up for her. But her family was also reluctant to speak about her or the enormity of her loss.
Friends of the Kinney family have set up an online fundraiser to help them with funeral expenses. A message published on the GoFundMe page said that William had “an unshakeable spirit”.
“He was always kind, gentle when the situation called for it, had a quick laugh and was always inclusive,” the page said. “He loved his sisters, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and was always happy to host friends of all ages. Sweet Will knew no strangers and our hearts are broken for his family as they try to find their way forward.”
The adults killed were Katherine Koonce, 60, the principal, Mike Hill, 61, a janitor, and Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher.
In a video statement released Tuesday night, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Peak was set to have dinner with his wife Maria after he joined Covenant as a substitute teacher.
Cynthia Peak via Facebook Cynthia Peak
“Maria woke up this morning without one of her best friends,” Lee said, adding that Peak, Koonce and his wife once taught together and “have been family friends for decades.”
Sandra McCalla, a former administrator at Peak High School in Shreveport, Louisiana, said Peak served as a statistician at girls’ basketball games and track and field meetings before graduating in 1979.
“She was doing good behind the scenes,” said McCalla, who served as principal of Captain Shreve High School for 30 years.
Chuck Owen, who has known Peak since childhood, said Peak’s father was a well-known physician in Leesville, Louisiana, where the family lived before moving to Shreveport.
He said, “Everyone knew her, knew her family” and that she was “just a sweet person from a sweet family.”
Owen added that Peak was a faithful follower of God and wasn’t surprised that she worked in a Christian school.
“She told me she was saved in college and that God’s love changed her life,” he said.
Nashville songwriter Natalie Hemby posted on Instagram that Peak “taught me to swim. Keeping our heads above water…that’s what we’re all trying to do right now.”
Peak’s family issued a statement saying their “hearts are broken,” and called Peak “a pillar of the community and a teacher loved by all of her students.”
“She has never wavered in her faith and we know that she is wrapped in the arms of Jesus,” the statement said.
Katherine Koonce via Facebook Katherine Koonce
Koonce, the principal of Covenant School, was a woman of deep faith who saw raising children as her mission.
“That’s what God called her for,” said her close friend Jackie Bailey.
“We’re in such shock,” Bailey added. “I’ve looked around my house and every piece of cross stitch I have on the wall, she made it — she gave it to me.”
One of them said: “A friend always loves.”
“That’s Proverbs 17:17,” Bailey said. “That’s the kind of person she was. She has always loved.”
Bailey added: “If there was trouble in this school, she would run there, not from it. She was trying to protect those kids… That’s exactly what I believe.”
Koonce’s family said in a statement Wednesday that she “gave her life to protect the students she loved.”
“We are devastated by our loss, but we need comfort and healing from our God,” the family said. “It is our privilege to honor Katherine’s legacy and celebrate her remarkable spirit.”
Before Koonce assumed the top position at Covenant, Anna Caudill, a former art teacher, worked with her for almost a decade at Christ Presbyterian Academy, another Christian school in the area affiliated with a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America.
“She was an absolute dynamo and one of the smartest women I’ll ever meet,” Caudill said, recalling how Koonce excelled at her day-to-day work while raising her kids, getting her masters, then her PhD and one book wrote.
Caudill, who grew up in several male-led Christian denominations, said Koonce is the first woman in such an environment, which encourages her to keep learning and pursuing her life goals.
“She wasn’t Wonder Woman, but I’ve never seen them in the same place,” Caudill said.
Michael Hill via Facebook Michael Hill
Friends of Hill, the caretaker, said they believed he died protecting the school’s children.
Pastor Tim Dunavant of Hartsville First United Methodist Church said in a Facebook post that he hired Hill to work at Covenant more than a decade ago.
“I don’t know the details yet. But I have a feeling that if all comes out, Mike’s sacrifice saved lives,” Dunavant wrote.
Hill’s family issued a statement, saying, “We pray for Covenant School and are so grateful that Michael was loved by the faculty and students who filled him with joy for 14 years. He was the father of seven children… and 14 grandchildren. He enjoyed cooking and spending time with family.”
Another pastor, Jim Bachmann, said Hill was “one of those people you don’t like” and that he made a point of learning the names of all the students and speaking to them.
Bachmann was the founding pastor of the Covenant Presbyterian Church, which runs the school, and is the current pastor of Stephens Valley Church, where Hill was a member and sometimes served as a greeter.
On those occasions, Hill would “dress up as if he were meeting the President of the United States,” Bachmann said. He added, “Everyone loved Mike and he loved them back.”
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Associated Press reporter Travis Loller in Nashville contributed to this story. Sainz reported from Memphis. Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.
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