Former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson‘s children’s school was on lockdown during the shooting at the nearby Covenant School in Nashville on Monday. Her husband, Andrew East, picked up their kids from school early and caught footage of police cars on his way home. Three adults and three children were killed during the shooting, police said.
“I haven’t been able to catch my breath since reading the news and getting a call from our school that they were on lockdown as well given the news,” Johnson wrote in an Instagram Story post Monday, reports PEOPLE. “Shaking. Crying. Heartbroken. Horrific.” Johnson and East are parents to daughter Drew Hazel East, 3, and son Jett James East, 18 months.
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Johnson felt “lucky and blessed but still so incredibly sad” after the shooting. “No parent or family should ever have to deal with this,” she wrote. “I’ve seen children’s ambulances, countless police cars, buses of children being transported to safety, parents flying down the street laying on their horns, people sprinting in and out of churches and schools looking for their kids. Today has changed me.”
“Praying for the families whose baby won’t be coming home from school today and the families who have lost a piece of themselves,” she continued. “I also pray for the children and adults who may have witnessed, first hand, the heinous acts of violence inflicted today. Jesus, please be near.”
The gold medalist also shared a video her husband took on his way home with their children. The video showed police cars and school buses. “These are all of the babies from the shooting being taken to safety,” Johnson captioned the clip. “My mama heart is shattered, you guys. You don’t ever fully recover from this. Thinking of these beautiful innocent babies, their families, the first responders, the teachers, [and] everyone affected by today’s heinous acts. Helicopters are still circling. The silence in Nashville is very loud right now.
She later shared a picture of herself with her two children, taken after East got home with them. In another video, she spoke directly to her followers, noting that she could not stop crying. “A friend said it the best… Nashville is way more than a city, it’s a family,” Johnson wrote in another Story post. “Every single person is separated by two degrees and knows each other prays for each other, goes to church together.”
Later, Johnson shared a longer statement on Instagram, featuring the names of all six victims. “I woke up this morning in tears feeling guilt and sadness that we are ok and some families are not. I woke up scared to take our babies back to school or anywhere for that matter. I woke up sad for everyone, for our country, our world,” she wrote on Tuesday. “I know prayers can’t take it back but I’m still going to pray like hell. I believe our God is good. It’s all I can believe in right now. My faith is all I can lean on right now. God, please save us all from this evil.”
Three 9-year-old students – Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney – were killed in the shooting on Monday. Katherine Koonce, 60, Cynthia Peak, 61, and Michael Hill, 61, were also killed. The shooter was Audrey Hill, 28, a former student who planned the attack, Metro Nashville Police said, reports WSMV. Hale was killed by responding officers. The Convent School is located in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America.
