the age of the kids who died. Most protesters were removed from the gallery after some began yelling down at the lawmakers, "Children are dead!"The protests followed a Wednesday night candlelight vigil in Nashville where Republican lawmakers stood alongside first lady Jill Biden, Democratic lawmakers and musicians including Sheryl Crow, who has called for stricter gun controls since the attack.The vigil was somber and at times tearful, as speaker after speaker read the victims' names and offered condolences to their loved ones but refrained from any statement that could be seen as political."Just two days ago was our city’s worst day," Mayor John Cooper said. "I so wish we weren’t here, but we need to be here."Police have said Hale drove up to the school on Monday morning, shot out the glass doors, entered and began firing indiscriminately.
Police later fatally shot Hale.Among those killed were the three students, Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney; Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian.Absent from the Wednesday vigil was Tennessee Republican Gov.
Bill Lee, who has been an advocate for less restrictive gun laws along with greater school security and once intimated that prayer could protect Tennessee from school shootings and other things.Sen.
Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks on the Senate floor advocating for police officers to be in every school in America following the mass shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.Lee issued a video statement Tuesday saying that Peak was a close friend of his wife, Maria, and that the two had been planning to meet for dinner on Monday."Maria woke up this morning without one of her best friends," Lee said.