Nashville City Councilman Russ Pulley struggled to override the instincts honed by a career in law enforcement when he learned there was a shooting in progress inside the Covenant School Monday.
The 64-year-old former police officer and FBI agent was in his Green Hills office working on city business as the horrific incident began to unfold. Adrenaline surged through his body as he rushed out to his car and headed to the school.
“I immediately went into that mode and went to the scene,” Pulley recalled. “But when I got there, I had to remember that I’m a councilman and not a police officer. I didn’t want to interfere.”
Inside the Christian elementary school, a 28-year-old woman who identified as a man had gunned down three small children, all aged 9, and three adults before police officers shot her dead. As the nation was riveted to breaking developments, families of schoolchildren began to muster at the nearby Woodmont Baptist Church.
That’s where Pulley knew he was needed.
“I went to the church to try to help however I could,” Pulley said, describing a heart-wrenching scene of sobbing parents and shell-shocked children. “I have an instinct to protect and serve, but I knew that wasn’t my role this time.”
The victims have been identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9, as well as custodian Mike Hill, 61, substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, and headmistress Katherine Koonce, 60.
On Wednesday evening, Pulley was headed to a candlelight vigil at Public Square Park. First Lady Jill Biden, Nashville Mayor John Cooper, and city Police Chief John Drake were scheduled to speak and musician Sheryl Crow planned to perform.
It’s a different role for Pulley, a native Virginian who served as a police officer in Virginia Beach and a State Trooper in the Old Dominion before joining the FBI. While in the bureau, Pulley worked on counter-terrorism as well as violent crime and drug cases. Still, what Pulley saw on Monday was enough to shake a veteran lawman.
“If you have children of your own, it is impossible for that to not get to you,” said Pulley, a father of two adults and a grandfather.
District 25, which Pulley has represented since 2015, includes Covenant Presbyterian Church and its pre-K-6 school where the horrible attack took place. The district also includes the home of the family of the shooter, who The Daily Wire is not naming in keeping with its policy of not identifying mass killers.
“I don’t know much about her or her family, but I know several families on Brightwood Avenue,” Pulley mused. “At this point, that’s not what’s important to me. What matters right now is the families from the school who are hurting.”
“I know they need space right now, but when they need me, I will be there for them.”