NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - March 27, 2023, is a day Nashvillians will never forget.
One year ago, six people were killed at Covenant Presbyterian School including three students and three adults.
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The families of Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, William Kinney, Cynthia Peak, Katherine Koonce, and Mike Hill are still working through the trauma and grief while keeping the victim’s memories alive.
One of the families who will never forget this day is the family of Scruggs.
Kara Arnold, Scruggs’ aunt, said she was close with her brothers and cousins. Even though she was outnumbered by boys, she could still keep up with them.
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“She was always just in the center of it. You just couldn’t. There was nothing she couldn’t do,” Arnold said. “She was never going to be who you thought she should be or who you wanted her to be or anything like that. She was just true to who she was and fashioned in the way she moved through life. It was really just beautiful.”
After a year of birthdays and holidays, Scruggs’ family is clinging on to the memories they made of her saying that during hard times like this, that’s what gets them through.
“It’s been a hard year for sure,” Arnold said. “But learning to hold grief and joy at the same time, all the time.”
Arnold said that Chip, one of her sons and one of the cousins closest to Scruggs, sometimes catches her crying.
“He had to just come in and start telling me happy stories about her, you know…He knows that this is sad and this is hard,” Arnold said.
Arnold said that even though it’s hard to cope with the loss of Scruggs, there is so much good and that she and her family won’t let go of that.
“There’s so much happiness when we think of her and that’s what we want to share with people,” Arnold said. “We want to hold on to that really deeply.”
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Arnold said if she could tell Scruggs anything she would tell her the following:
“Thank you for the example that you set. She is now the bar for my boys for every girl they’ll come in contact with for the rest of their lives. And just being so true to herself that was such an example. She touched so many people because of that. Thank you for doing that [and] for being who she was to her very, very core. She always was.”
A little more than two years ago, Arnold and her family moved from Nashville to Colorado to buy a motel.
“Our community is so amazing out there, but we really just wanted people to know her because everyone knows her here in Nashville, but in Colorado they don’t,” Arnold said. “We just want to talk about her and share our memories and we want people to ask about her.”
One way the Arnold family is holding on to Scruggs’ memory is by building a memorial garden. Arnold revealed the motel was donated a tree from a local company in Canyon City.
“We’re trying to build a memorial garden around it just so that we can share her with everyone who comes out,” Arnold said.
A month after the tragic shooting, in April 2023, the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee created a fund in Scruggs’ memory and to honor the memory of other children whose lives have been cut short because of school violence.
The Covenant Presbyterian School released a statement regarding the last year:
“The past year has been terribly difficult for our community, and the pain is still very real. Throughout this challenging time, our unwavering commitment has been to prioritize the well-being and healing of our students, families, teachers and staff. As we mark this painful anniversary, we find solace in the light that has emerged from the darkness. It is with profound gratitude that we acknowledge the overwhelming outpouring of love and support we have received from our local Nashville community and around the world. Your kindness has been a beacon of hope, and the depth of your generosity profoundly moves us. We continue to see all of the ways in which the Lord is providing for and loving our community. He has been and will continue to be our comfort and strength.”
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