Ex-FBI Agent-Turned-Nashville Councilman Recalls Horror Of School Shooting

When he learned there was a hunting going on inside the Covenant School on Monday, Nashville City Councilman Russ Pulley struggled to suppress his inclinations, which had been honed by his career in law enforcement.

The tragic incident started as the 64-year-old former police officer and FBI employee was working on community business in his Green Hills office. As he hurried to his vehicle and made his way to the classroom, excitement surged through his brain.

Pulley recalled,” I went into that way right away and went to the scene.” But I had to keep in mind that I’m a councillor, not an officer of the law, when I arrived. I didn’t want to get involved.

A 28-year-old woman who identified as a soldier had shot down three young children, all of whom were 9 years old, and three adults inside the Holy elementary school before police officers shot her dying. Families of children started to congregate at the local Woodmont Baptist Church as the country became engrossed in breaking advancements.

Pulley was aware of his need there.

Pulley described a heartbreaking image of sobbing families and shell-shocked children, saying,” I went to the church to try to help however I could.” Although I know it wasn’t my responsibility this time, I have an urge to defend and function.

Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, William Kinney, Mike Hill, substitute instructor Cynthia Peak, and principal Katherine Koonce, all 61, have been named as the victim.

Pulley was on his way to a light watch in Public Square Park on Wednesday night. First Lady Jill Biden, John Cooper, president of Nashville, city police captain John Drake, and singer Sheryl Crow were all scheduled to speak.

Pulley, a tribal Virginian who previously worked for the FBI in the Old Dominion and the Virginia Beach police force, has shifted his focus to this position. Pulley worked on drug occasions, violent crime, and counterterrorism while working for the office. However, what Pulley witnessed on Monday was sufficient to frighten a seasoned attorney.

Pulley, a father and the father of two adults, said,” If you have kids of your own, it is possible for that to escape you.”

Covenant Presbyterian Church and its pre-K – 6 education, which Pulley has represented since 2015, are located in District 25, where the terrible attack occurred. The area also includes the residence of the shooter’s community, whose identity The Daily Wire is withholding due to its policy of never naming mass murderers.

Pulley pondered,” I don’t hear much about her or her life, but I am familiar with a number of households on Brightwood Avenue.” That’s not what matters to me at this stage. The communities from the school who are suffering just now are what matter.

” I am aware that they require area at the moment, but when they do, I will be there for them.”