The funeral of Evelyn Dieckhaus, one of three nine-year-old children killed at the Covenant School shooting, took place on Friday afternoon in Nashville.
Evelyn was remembered as a “shining light” in the funeral, which was closed to the media, at the Woodmont Christian Church in the Green Hills neighbourhood of the city.
Before the service, the church’s senior minister, the Rev Clay Stauffer, described the youngster as “radiant.”
Evelyn was killed while leading her classmates to safety in response to a fire alarm seemingly tripped by the attacker, her family believes.
Services for substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, and Hallie Scruggs, nine, will be held on Saturday. Nine-year-old William Kinney's funeral will take place on Sunday, while services for Mike Hill, 61, the school’s custodian, will be held on Tuesday and the funeral for head of school Katherine Koonce, 60, will take place on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, police have released the chilling 911 calls they received from inside the Covenant School as the shooter – since identified by law enforcement as Audrey Hale, 28, a former student of the private Christian elementary school – broke into the building and opened fire.
A manifesto written by the suspect is soon expected to released by officers investigating the deadly attack.
