NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Antioch High School shooting has resurfaced painful emotions for families and parents at The Covenant School, where six people, including three children, were killed nearly two years ago.
“Thoughts and prayers are appreciated. We all send our thoughts and prayers, but doing the same thing isn’t working. It’s not working. We need to take action,” Covenant parent Melissa Alexander said.
Alexander vividly remembers March 27, 2023, when a gunman opened fire at her son’s school.
“There are still things you can’t forget, and that will stay with him the rest of his life,” she said.
Seeing parents from Antioch High School go through the same agony brought back trauma.
“We are with them. We are thinking of them. We are praying for them,” she said.
Alexander encourages parents to confront these difficult events with their children.
“Acknowledge, yes, something bad happens, and you really need to work through those emotions,” she said. “It’s OK to be angry. All of those emotions are normal.”
Since the Covenant shooting, Alexander has advocated for safe storage laws, enhanced background checks and measures to keep guns out of the hands of individuals with mental health challenges.
“I wanted change, and I was angry and didn’t want this to happen again,” she said.
But progress has been slow, leaving her frustrated with the lack of meaningful action.
“You want to shake people and say, ‘Come on, let’s do something about this,’” she said.
Alexander believes change must start at the polls and urges voters to research candidates and participate in elections.
“It’s really thinking about who you’ve elected, who you are voting for — going to primaries, getting out early and voting, learning about candidates, and not just voting because they’re one party or the other,” she said.
Her son, now 11, is doing well in school despite the tragedy he experienced. But for Alexander, the fight continues.
“When is it enough?” she asked. “When is it enough to lose a child for a whole community to experience trauma of somebody being shot in a space that’s supposed to be safe for them?”
Alexander stands with the families affected by the Antioch High School shooting and remains determined to keep fighting for safer schools and stronger gun laws.
She said no one wants to take these weapons away. Parents are just desperately asking for more safeguards to prevent tragedies.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at aaron.cantrell@newschannel5.com
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