NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro Nashville Police had more than 300 officers respond on Monday. That's not counting the other first responders that raced to the scene.
A few of them were given an unthinkable task on this unimaginable day in Nashville. Along with police, fire and paramedics, a fourth team rushed up that hill to The Covenant School. That team was the department's chaplains. Out of 27, 13 were able to leave their job — to break free and drop what they were doing and show up on the scene.
"Some are pastors. Some work full-time jobs, but they’re religious leaders in the community," said Sgt. Andrew Ivey, who leads MNPD's volunteer chaplain division. "We’ve never requested chaplains like that before, this is pretty much unprecedented."
They dispatched faith leaders to console officers at the scene and comfort families waiting to reunite with their students. A few — including Ivey — took on the hardest task of all.
"Myself and a volunteer chaplain were at Vanderbilt with the parents, who had lost children," Ivey said. "It was extremely difficult, it really is. It’s always hard when a parent loses a child and this was an especially difficult situation. I have a 9-year-old myself, and so, I can relate in that regard but I’ve never felt that pain and I can’t imagine that pain and how much it hurts."
The chaplains may not have been equipped with weapons or ready to treat, but Ivey does believe they were able to rush and provide a desperately needed dose of hope.
"Even in the midst of this situation, we want people to know, hey God still loves you and God is here to support you. And he’s here with you. And sometimes the best way to do that is for us to be God’s arms and just to hug somebody. So we gave out a lot of hugs."
Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer MNPD chaplain can contact Andrew at 615.880.3193 or Andrew.Ivey@Nashville.gov
On Monday, March 27, six people were shot and killed by a gunman at The Covenant School.
Police received the 911 call for the shooting at 10:13 a.m. Within 14 minutes, Metro Police were able to take down the shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Hale.
Hale gained access to the building through a side door that they shot through. From there, the shooter went upstairs and shot at police through the windows.
Two members of an officer team fired on Hale. Those two officers are officer Rex Englebert, a four-year MNPD veteran, and officer Michael Collazo, a nine-year MNPD veteran.
Who died in the shooting?
- Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9
- Hallie Scruggs, 9
- William Kinney, 9
- Cynthia Peak, 61
- Katherine Koonce, 60
- Mike Hill, age 61
The shooter was a 28-year-old Nashvillian who lived in the Belmont-Hillsboro neighborhood.
