Mother describes effect of Covenant School shooting on students
During a rally on April 17
By Tony Garcia
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NASHVILLE, Tennesee (WSMV) — During a rally on Monday, a Covenant School mother provided a heartbreaking account of how the deadly shooting has affected the students and urged changes be made toward gun safety in Tennessee.
Sarah Newman gave an emotional speech about the trauma the kids and teachers witnessed that tragic Monday in March and pleaded with lawmakers to turn the horrific shooting into change.
“The trauma is not going to dissipate, it’s not going to leave us or our children,” she said. “It’ll just find a home within us and we’ll learn to live with it.”
The Covenant School opened its doors for the first time since the shooting last Friday. Parents walked through the school and shared prayers of hope but the eery feeling remained as classrooms still had “March 27″ still written on the boards.
Newman explained how fortunate it was that her son was not at the campus that day, but many students weren’t so lucky.
“My own son, Noah, was okay. He was getting a haircut with his dad, but the rest of our community was inside that building. My friends, our children, and so many people we love in that building. Our safe space,” she said.
Shouting and chants for an end to gun violence continue in Tennessee, although no bill has hit the state legislature that would outline a practical way to do so. Governor Bill Lee presented a massive plan to tighten security at every state school the week after the Covenant School shooting and is even supporting stricter background checks for those who seek to own a gun.
Many believe simply surrounding the state’s schools with more security is not the answer, but rather a complete ban on automatic weapons is the only way to prevent these deadly incidents from occurring so frequently.
“We had everything. We had the security, we had locked doors, we had intense active shooter training…they had everything,” Newman told the crowd on Monday. “Our cops are heroes, they didn’t hesitate a second. It’s not enough.”
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