NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It was one month ago today six innocent lives were taken in a mass shooting at The Covenant School here in Nashville.
It could have been much worse if not for the incredible response from the Metro Nashville Police Department. Viewers can recall the dramatic police body cam video as officers immediately went in and in a matter of minutes eliminated the threat.
Now all six officers are speaking out together for the first time in an exclusive interview with NewsChannel 5.
And they share a key new detail: How a forgotten police radio helped lead the officers to the shooter.
The six Metro police officers risked their lives, entering Covenant School determined to take out a deadly threat. The memory of it all is still fresh.
"It doesn't seem like it's been 30 days. It's always going to be fresh in our minds. I don't think it's ever going to fade out. It was a very traumatic day. A very stressful day," said MNPD Detective Eric Wegener.
He was with five others who charged into the school to start clearing rooms. Initially, it was quiet and the shooter could not be found. That's when Wegener realized he forgot his radio. So he ran out to his car to get it and found himself taking gunfire from a second-floor window.
"I realized I may be the target of gunfire. My car got shot up."
The officers still inside the building said hearing those gunshots helped lead them to the shooter.
"That was the stimulus we needed to stop clearing rooms and go toward stimulus and that being the gunfire," said Sgt. Jeff Mathis.
Seconds later, the shooter was down, but not before six innocent lives were lost.
Sgt. Mathis was asked how he copes.
"Sometimes not well. Seeing the pictures of the victims and knowing what I saw and comparing those two will never be the same."
It's hard but there's no question the officer's actions saved lives. And during this past month, they've been thankful for the incredible support.
"We've had a great amount of support from our community and our families, our friends and each other," said Detective Zachary Pelese.
Officer Rex Engelbert agreed, certainly an overwhelming amount of support. A lot of letters are being sent to the precinct.
And Detective Ryan Cagle says the response is hard to believe,
"I've never see anything like it. It's appreciated. We couldn't go through and can't write thank you cards — it's that overwhelming."
Overwhelming, but welcome as they all deal with what happened.
Officer Mike Collazo also credits the PD for providing what they need.
"The support from the department has been amazing for all of us. We've all talked with counselors, taken steps to return back to work — everyday is another day for us," said Collazo.
They say they were all close before Covenant, but the six are even closer now.
"It's just made us a lot tighter — specific circumstance and fortunate all together for it," said Detective Wegener.
They say they'll learn from what happened to be better officers. All are now back on the job.
Most experts agree the police response to The Covenant shooting was textbook.
The body cam video is expected to be used for training officers in the future.
