“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends,” John 15:13 states.
In the frenzied moments when death held the children of The Covenant School in the hollow of its hand, one little girl stood up to save them, only to be shot down.
Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9, was trying to reach the fire alarm to get help, according to the Daily Mail.
This little girl tried saving her friends by pulling a fire alarm when she heard the Nashville shooter coming.
She was shot and killed.
Her name was Evelyn Dieckhaus.
HERO. pic.twitter.com/iFa9c0gJhv
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 28, 2023
By the time it came, she was lost.
Dieckhaus was one of three children that died Monday when Audrey Hale killed six people at the Nashville, Tennessee, school before Hale in turn was killed by police.
“She was very creative, she and her older sister would stage plays in the backyard. She was just an absolute delight,” said a family friend, who spoke to The Missourian but was not named.
Evelyn’s family issued a statement.
“Our hearts are completely broken. We cannot believe this has happened. Evelyn was a shining light in this world. We appreciate all the love and support but ask for space as we grieve,” the Dieckhaus family said in a statement, according to WZTV-TV.
A glimmer of the long shadow of agony cast by a few moments of hate-filled violence revealed itself Monday at a Woodmont Christian Church vigil. Senior Minister Clay Stauffer talked about the slain third-grader, and what the shooting meant to her fifth-grade sister, Eleanor, according to the New York Post.
“I don’t want to be an only child,” Stauffer said Eleanor cried, according to The Tennessean.
As the tale of Evelyn’s effort spread, Twitter reacted.
May we all have just half of her courage. I was okay up until this. Now I’m crying.
Turn back to God, folks. We can’t do this alone.
— Kittengewehr (@FreedomBullets) March 28, 2023
This is 9 year-old Evelyn Dieckhaus. She sounded a fire alarm when she heard the trans terrorist firing shots.
Sadly, this little heroine was killed yesterday.
NEVER FORGET. pic.twitter.com/oHAmNnSJdz
— Cassandra (@CassyWearsHeels) March 28, 2023
Others were honored as well as lives taken too soon.
Will Kinney, 9, was remembered as a boy with “an unflappable spirit,” on a GoFundMe page set up for this shattered family.
William Kinney, 9, “was unfailingly kind, gentle when the situation called for it, quick to laugh, and always inclusive of others. Sweet Will knew no strangers, and our hearts our broken for his family as they try to find their way forward.” pic.twitter.com/NtPq5hLd1f
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 28, 2023
“He was unfailingly kind, gentle when the situation called for it, quick to laugh, and always inclusive of others. He loved his sisters, adored his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and was always excited to host friends of every age. Sweet Will knew no strangers, and our hearts our broken for his family as they try to find their way forward,” the page wrote.
Hallie Scruggs, 9, was the daughter of Chad Scruggs, the lead pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church.
The 9-year-old daughter of the lead pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church was killed in yesterday’s school shooting, his former church confirms in a statement. This is a photo of Chad Scruggs and his daughter Hallie in 2019. pic.twitter.com/Dl9WEnzjJG
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) March 28, 2023
“We love the Scruggs family and mourn with them over their precious daughter Hallie. Together, we trust in the power of Christ to draw near and give us the comfort and hope we desperately need,” Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas said in a statement.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.