Who was Katherine Koonce? Elementary school principal killed in Nashville school shooting

On Monday, March 27, 2023, Katherine Koonce, the Covenant Elementary School principal, was killed after a shooter opened fire at the Nashville Christian academy.

Early Monday morning, Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old transgender woman and a former student at Covenant Elementary School, barged through the school doors and killed three children and three staff members before being shot dead by the responding officers at the scene.

Hours after the shooting, officials announced that 60-year-old school principal Katherine Koonce was among the six victims fatally gunned down during the Nashville mass shooting.

Koonce, a Baton Rogue native who graduated from LSU, was reportedly hired as The Covenant School principal in April 2016.

The school head, who received her doctorate from Trevecca Nazarene University in 2015 and has decades of experience as an educator, also authored the book Parenting the Way God Parents: Refusing to Recycle Your Parents' Mistake.

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Katherine Koonce was the Academic Dean at Nashville's Christ Presbyterian Academy before starting as the principal of the Covenant School

Hours after the covenant school shooting incident, officials announced that six victims were killed in the shooting, including school head Katherine Koonce, who before starting at the Christian school, served as the Director of Learning Services and Academic Dean at Nashville's Christ Presbyterian Academy.

According to the school's website, The Covenant School was founded in 2001 by the Covenant Presbyterian Church. Shortly after Katherine Koonce’s name was identified among the victims, the community began flooding social media with condolence posts characterizing the victim as a woman of faith who was devoted to her students.

Diane Button, the parent of a student who attended Nashville's Christ Presbyterian Academy when Koonce worked as the dean, told PEOPLE that the educator was a beloved friend who always strived to give back to the community.

Diane, a cancer survivor, also said that Koonce supported her family through the diagnosis and looked after their well-being. She said:

"Katherine was as solid as a friend could be. Her faith was her foundation. Her family was her greatest love, yet she always wanted to work and give back so other families and children could also feel loved and cared for."

In a Twitter post, Reverend Mike Edmundson said that a day before Koonce was killed, he had the privilege to worship alongside the victim and added:

"Today, she went to be with the saviour she loved while protecting the children she loved. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy."

The three children who were killed in the shooting have been named as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all aged nine. Two other staff members were identified as Cynthia Peak, a substitute teacher at the school, and Michael Hill, a custodian at the Christian academy.

While police said that the shooting was a premeditated attack, they also noted that the victims were not targeted by the suspect.