(Nashville) A candlelight vigil is to be held Wednesday in memory of the three children and three adults who were killed in a shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee.
The first lady of the United States, Jill Biden, must go there. A performance by singer Sheryl Crow and her musicians Margo Price and Ketch Secor is also planned, the Nashville mayor’s office said in a press release.
Mayor John Cooper said the rally would “honor the lives of the victims” and bring comfort to the survivors and families of Covenant Elementary School.
Earlier Wednesday, Pope Francis conveyed his condolences to the city and offered prayers for those affected by the violence.
“He joins the whole community in mourning the children and adults who have died,” reads the message, which was sent by the Vatican Secretary of State on behalf of the pontiff.
City of Nashville officials on Wednesday declined to make 911 calls about the shooting public due to the ongoing investigation.
Police say a 28-year-old former student came to the school on Monday morning and shot at the glass doors. Then he shot dead three 9-year-old children, a guard, a substitute teacher and the school principal.
Authorities have yet to determine the shooter’s motive, but said the assailant did not target specific people.
The dead children have been identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. The adults killed were Katherine Koonce, 60, the school principal, substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, and caretaker Mike Hill, also 61.
Police say the shooter, identified as Audrey Hale, was under a doctor’s care for an undisclosed emotional disorder and was not in the sights of officers prior to the attack.
Police information about Hale’s gender was sketchy.
For hours on Monday, police identified the shooter as a woman. Later that day, the police chief said Hale was transgender.
In an email Tuesday, a police spokesperson claimed Hale was assigned female at birth but used male pronouns on a social media profile. Then the police chief later used feminine pronouns to refer to the attacker.