While feeling blessed that her two children were safe, the Olympic gymnast cannot help but lament over the tragedy, saying, 'No parent or family should ever have to deal with this.'
- Mar 28, 2023
AceShowbiz - Shawn Johnson was feeling "incredibly sad" over what had happened to her two young children. Hours after a shooting took place at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, the season 8 winner of "Dancing with the Stars" revealed to fans that her kids' school was placed on lockdown.
On Monday, March 27, the 31-year-old took to Instagram story to offer an update on the wellbeing of 3-year-old daughter Drew Hazel and 20-month-old son Jett James. In a lengthy note, she shared, "Our babies are now home with us. I feel lucky and blessed but still so incredibly sad. No parent or family should ever have to deal with this."
In the same story, the Olympic gymnast expressed how she really felt over the tragic incident. "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," she wrote. "Shaking. Crying. Heartbroken. Horrific."
Reporting on what she witnessed in the wake of the school shooting, Shawn recounted, "I've seen childrens 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."
In another Instagram story, Shawn borrowed words from a friend to describe what Nashville meant to many. "A friend said it the best…. Nashville is way more than a city, it's a family. Every single person is separated by two degrees and knows each other, prays for each other, goes to church together," she noted.
Once she had her children safely in her arms, Shawn shared two more Stories. One captured the wife of Andrew East carrying her children on each arm with a note that read, "When Andrew got our babies home." Another one was a clip in which she gave her children kisses. Over the video, she wrote, "Can't stop crying."
The fatal shooting taking place at a private Christian campus, The Covenant School, took the lives of six people. Three nine-year-old children, Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, as well as three staff members, 61-year-old Cynthia Peak, 60-year-old Katherine Koonce, and 61-year-old Mike Hill had their life cut short.
