“Suspect down.”.Those powerful words of a Nashville policeman signalled the slaughter at the Christian Covenant Presbyterian School in Nashville Monday was over..Waves of relief surely surged through the hearts of all listening, knowing a demonic lunatic was stopped from killing more helpless innocents trapped inside that elementary school, attended by 200 students pre-kindergarten to sixth grade..Three children and three staff members were shot and killed by a 28-year-old Nashville shooter named Audrey Hale, a former student. She entered the school after shattering the glass doors with a hail of bullets..Hale was armed with three weapons..FBI searched Hale’s home and found a map of the school showing it was a premeditated attack. Hale also left behind a Manifesto. Burn before reading. It’s not worth anyone’s time. Don’t glorify Hale by releasing it to the public. This hate-filled monster doesn’t get to speak from the grave..A big deal was made about Hale being transgender. The reaction from some media outlets is messed up beyond words..Hale prowled through that school stalking victims, pointed guns at nine-year-old children and seniors, and snuffed out their lives..But media fretted that Metro Nashville Police Chief (MNP) John Drake — on the heels of a grippingly horrific event — didn’t use the right pronouns for a diabolical shooter who identified as a man, but was a biological woman..These woke losers who breathlessly reported on the pronoun “confusion” have lost perspective — and their hearts and minds..And then came another loser reaction. US President Joe Biden chimed in shamelessly politicizing the tragedy, using it to promote a push for Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazine. Such opportunism. Such callous disrespect..“So, I call on Congress again to pass my assault weapons ban. It's about time that we begin to make some more progress.”.Sure, he called it “heartbreaking, a family’s worst nightmare.”.And he noted the swift response of police, but really glossed over their extreme heroism and professionalism..“Suspect down.”.What did it take to get to that point?.Heroes. In a world that hungers for heroes, Nashville police stepped up in a breathtaking way to end the killing spree..The body camera footage of officers Rex Engelbert, a four-year veteran, and Michael Collazo, a nine-year veteran, part of a team that charged into the school, offers the gripping proof..Police entered the building not knowing where the shooter was..They marched down hallways, up stairwells, and into rooms, looking for the shooter..They opened a double door not knowing if the shooter was standing right behind it aiming a weapon at them..An alarm blared. The ominous sound of a gun popping was heard. Without hesitating these officers headed straight in the direction of the storm..How many of those officers — who risked their lives to save other people’s children — had children of their own they wanted to go home to? But they kept marching..The bravery and calm, focused determination they showed is stunning..They gave Hale a chance to surrender..“Get your hands away from the gun.”.Hale refused..So “suspect down” at 10:27 am — only 14 minutes from the first 10:13 am call to police. It was Hale or one or more of them. They made the right choice..No one will know how many lives were saved because of that swift response, how many parents get to hug their children instead of burying them because of these heroes in uniform..But the police body cameras captured another hero. A woman — obviously a school employee — stood on the sidewalk when police arrived..That the shooter could easily have been at a window, aiming at her didn’t deter her from providing police with valuable information about where the children were..She was no doubt traumatized and terrified but stood firm. What remarkable courage..MNP identified the victims as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age nine, and Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61..They can also be identified as loved ones of tormented families left behind to grieve..What Hale identified as means nothing.
