Marine Corps Vet And Commended Cop: Meet The Heroic Officers Who Took Down The Nashville Shooter

At a Christian secondary school in Nashville, Tennessee, two Nashville Metro Police officers are receiving praise for their bravery on Monday night. These actions may have saved the lives of many students and staff.

A group of police officers rushed into the Covenant School in Nashville and took a 28-year-old sexual shot out hours after she entered the school and killed three adults and three sons. Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo, two Nashville police officers who are being credited with running into the classroom and killing the mass shot, are seen in bodycam footage of the officers effect.

Engelbert, 27, is a four-year veteran of the force. He grew up on the Northwest side of Chicago with three brothers and a sister, according to ABC 7 News. Engelbert was one of the first officers on the scene after the female shooter, who identified as a man, shot her way into the building at 10:13 a.m. Engelbert’s bodycam footage shows the officer quickly grabbing a rifle from the back of his squad car upon arriving at the school. Once in the building, Engelbert directed his team toward the shooter. 

Engelbert is overheard telling his partners that” it sounds like ] the shooter ] is upstairs” after clearing some of the first floor. As gunfire is heard, Engelbert and his team of officers dashed to the next bed and down the hallway. Engelbert looked around the corner where the shot was standing at the end of the hallway and fired several shots, knocking her to the ground.

Kevin Engelbert’s brother said to ABC 7 News,” As an older sibling, I’m being proud of him as I can be and as happy that he is true.” Of course, my selfish side thinks,” I hope my brother isn’t it.” My simple side believes and believes that if my brother were present, his preparation and courage would be timely.

Engelbert received a commendation for “precision policing” last week after he helped recover meth, fentanyl, a stolen handgun, and nearly two dozen stolen credit cards, along with arresting two “dangerous felons,” according to Nashville’s Central Precinct, Fox News reported. 

Collazo, a 31-year-old previous fireman, SWAT team medic, and Marine Corps senior. Fox News reports that after graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Marines. He was born and raised in Nashville. After being previously shot by Engelbert, the shooter’s uncle, Collazo, moved in on her.

Bodycam footage shows Collazo, a nine-year veteran of the Metro Nashville Police Department, and another official approaching the gunman and yelling at her to” start moving” after she was shot. After she fell to the ground and continued to move while clinging to her weapons, Collazo fired more bullets at her. When they finally arrived at the shooter’s body, Collazo instructed her to” get your hands away from the gun” before moving the weapons out of her reach.

Collazo was also one of the officers who responded to a bombing in downtown Nashville on Christmas Day in 2020, his sister Deanna Collazo DeHart told Fox News. 

Collazo DeHart remarked,” He’s obviously pretty strong, stronger than I had imagined. He genuinely enjoys his work. It all really does pay off when I consider all the schooling he completes, the various classes, and the family gatherings that have been missed as a result of training or leaving to attend this semester or this coaching.