A pastor’s nine-year-old daughter was among six victims shot dead by a a former pupil at a Presbyterian school in Nashville.
Audrey Hale, 28, shot and killed three children and three staff members during a carefully planned shooting spree on Monday.
Here is what we know so far about those who lost their lives in the shooting.
Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9
Evelyn was in the third grade at the time of her death, a senior minister at a church service held just hours after the shooting said.
Her sister, a fifth grader, was seen crying during the service.
“I don’t want to be an only child,” she said, according to the Tennessean newspaper.
Hallie Scruggs, 9
Nine-year-old Hallie was the daughter of Chad Scruggs, a senior pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church, church officials told CBS News.
William Kinney, 9
William Kinney was a student at The Covenant School.
Mike Hill, 61
Mike Hill was the school caretaker who “absolutely loved” his job, according to a woman claiming to be his daughter on Facebook. Mr Hill had been working at the school for over 13 years.
Tim Dunavant, a pastor at Hartsville First United Methodist Church, wrote on Facebook that he would miss “those encouraging texts out of the blue” from Mr Hill.
Mr Dunavant added that it would not surprise him if Mr Hill sacrificed himself for the children because “he’s the kind of guy that would do that”.
Cynthia Peak, 61
Cynthia Peak was a substitute teacher who happened to be working at the school on the day of the attack, according to police.
Katherine Koonce, 60
Dr Katherine Koonce is listed on the school’s website as the head of the school and was described by one parent as a “saint”.
“She did so much for those kids,” a mother of two children enrolled at Covenant told BBC News. “And now gave her life protecting them.”
“She knew every single student by name,” she said. “She did everything to help them when families couldn’t afford things, it didn’t matter. She found ways for them to stay.”
Dr Koonce is also the author of the book Parenting the Way God Parents: Refusing to Recycle Your Parents’ Mistake.
She is described on Penguin Random House’s website as having 18 years of experience and a master’s degree in “specialising in learning, behaviour, and attention difficulties”.
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