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Nine-year-old Evelyn Dieckhaus, one of the six victims fatally gunned down during the Nashville mass shooting on March 27, reportedly tried to pull a fire alarm to alert the authorities and save other people during the attack.
Audrey Hale, aged 28, who recently came out as transgender, drove to The Covenant School, a Christian educational institute in Nashville on Monday, killing three staffers and three children, including Evelyn Dieckhaus, before the responding officers shot her dead.
On Monday evening, at an emotionally charged vigil for Evelyn Dieckhaus, her family, who described the young girl as a 'shining light', revealed that during the active shooting incident, Evelyn tried to activate the fire alarm to alert the authorities.
Friends and family of Nashville shooting Evelyn Dieckhaus victim speak out on the devastating loss
A friend anonymously spoke to the Missourian and described Evelyn Dieckhaus as a creative individual who would often put on plays alongside her sister Eleanor in their backyard.
According to the Tennessean, during a vigil on Monday, Woodmont Christian Church senior minister Clay Stauffer said that Evelyn's sister Eleanor, who was at the school and survived the attack, was devastated by the death of her sibling.
Stauffer, who spoke to a room full of people and had gathered to mourn the young victim, recalled Eleanor's devastating response after hearing her sister was killed in the incident and quoted her as saying that she didn’t want to be the only child in the family.
"I don’t want to be an only child."
The young girl's family reportedly issued a statement stating that they were heartbroken after the death of their child. The statement read:
“We cannot believe this has happened. Evelyn was a shining light in this world. We appreciate all the love and support but ask for space as we grieve.”
Evelyn Dieckhaus was killed alongside nine-year-olds William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs. Three staff members, Cynthia Peak, a substitute teacher, Michael Hill, a custodian, and Katherine Koonce, the principal of Covenant School, were also killed in the shooting.
As previously reported, 9-year-old Hallie Scruggs, who was killed in the mass shooting, was the youngest daughter of the senior pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church, Chad Scruggs.
While the grieving father, Chad Scruggs, has not addressed the death of his daughter, The Tennessean reported that Mark Davis, senior pastor at Park Cities Presbyterian Church, extended his support to the family and issued a statement saying:
“We love the Scruggs family and mourn with them over their precious daughter Hallie. Together, we trust in the power of Christ to draw near and give us the comfort and hope we desperately need.”
The New York Post revealed that the substitute teacher, Cynthia Peak, who was killed in the school shooting, was “best friends” with the wife of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. In a video posted on Twitter, the Governor revealed the connection between the women and mourned the victims.
In the wake of the incident, GoFundMe for nine-year-old Evelyn Dieckhaus has raised over $83,000. The proceeds will reportedly go towards covering the young victim's funeral costs.
