The Governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee (R), said that two of the teachers killed Monday at The Covenant School in Nashville were longtime family friends.
In a video posted on Twitter, Lee said that Cynthia Peak and his wife, Maria Lee, were going to eat dinner together on Monday night.
The peak was shot and killed earlier that day at the school where he was subbing. Lee also said that head teacher Katherine Koonce, who was also shot and killed, was a long-time friend.
“One of Maria’s best friends, Cindy Peak, wasn’t there when she woke up this morning,” the Republican governor said. “Cindy, Maria, and Katherine Koonce all taught at the same school, and their families have been friends for many years.”
Lee was sad about the people who were hurt in the “horrific act of violence” that police say was done by a former student who was 28 years old and was killed by police.
Michael Hill, the school’s custodian, and Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all 9 years old, also died in what Lee called a “tragedy beyond comprehension.”
Lee said that it was “a very hard time,” but he also said, “This is not the time for hate or anger.”
What happened at The Covenant School yesterday was a tragedy beyond comprehension. I want to speak directly to Tennesseans about the way forward. pic.twitter.com/3poMgYgxeq
— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) March 28, 2023
“I know there is pain, and I know how badly people want to know what happened, who is to blame, and how to stop this terrible tragedy from happening again,” he said. “Someday, people will wonder how someone could do this. There will be a time to talk about and argue about policy, but now is not that time. That won’t solve or fix anything.”
“Everybody is in pain. “Everybody,” Lee went on. “We will honor those we’ve lost by remembering that as we grieve and walk together. We can all agree on one thing: every human life is very important, and we will work to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“There is a clear desire in all of us to find ways to protect against evil, whether we agree on the steps or not,” he said.
In his speech, Lee didn’t talk about possible steps, like gun control. Police have found out that the shooter is transgender. Before the attack, the shooter bought seven guns legally and was being treated for an emotional disorder.
Lee asked everyone to pray for those who had been hurt by the massacre.
“We should pray first, but that’s not all we should do,” he said.
He said that law enforcement and school officials had been working for “years” to make schools safer. He also said that this was a fight “against evil itself.”
