Jason Sparks knows how it feels to have someone taken away from him in the blink of an eye.
"My kid brother was murdered right around the corner from here in broad daylight," Sparks said outside Cordell Hull, which is where Tennessee legislators have their offices. "Ever since then, I had to tell my children they have lost their uncle."
Sparks was one of the dozens who gathered near the Tennessee state capitol on Tuesday, a day after six victims lost their lives to a shooter at The Covenant School. The shooter died at the hands of the police. He and others have gone before legislators to testify about gun bills. More than 50 bills were filed on firearms and ammunition alone, not counting those filed on handgun permits.
NewsChannel 5 has reached out both to House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally about any legislation in response to the shooting. Seven guns from five different locations were purchased legally by the shooter. Neither office has returned the request for comment.
"When I was testifying two weeks ago, the lawmakers who didn’t want to listen walked out," Sparks said. "They are dodging the legislation today. I will be back here next week. I will keep coming back. But right now, I have to go pick up my daughter because she is having an anxiety attack."
Standing in the crowd was House Democratic Chair John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville. He said he wasn't there for the cameras and the microphones but the people before him, turning his back to reporters in the crowd.
"You have people in this building who are fighting for you and your families," Clemmons said. "You’re not alone. You are the power. You don’t have to be elected to effect change. As I look around here I see survivors, parents, grandparents, people who have lost their own children. You all are here for a reason. We need action. We need more than words. The only thing preventing action is accountability. They represent you."
Reverend Larissa Romero, an interim minister at the Downtown Presbyterian Church, said she felt anger was holy and right for this moment
Nashville was experiencing.
"People are with you in your anger," she said. "Prayer without action isn’t true prayer. The hands that God has are our hands."
Those wanting gun action in the legislature will meet outside of Cordell Hull a week from today at noon.
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.
