A nine-year-old girl shot dead by transgender killer Audrey Hale was remembered as a ‘beacon of light’ during her pink and green themed funeral on Friday afternoon.
The memorial for Evelyn Dieckhaus was held at the Woodmount Christian Church in Nashville – just three miles away from the Covenant school where the little girl was gunned down on Monday morning.
It was the first funeral to take place after Hale’s deadly rampage which saw her kill three schoolchildren and three staff members at her former school.
It comes after it was revealed Evelyn was shot while heroically trying to pull the fire alarm in a bid to thwart Hale’s attack which has been described by police as ‘targeted.’
Mourners were pictured arriving to the little girl’s funeral dressed in pink and green to pay tribute to her ‘light and love of color’ while children carried stuffed animals.
Evelyn Dieckhaus was remembered as a ‘beacon of light’ during her pink and green themed funeral on Friday
Mourners wore pink and green to pay tribute to Evelyn’s ‘light and love of color’
Others brought stuffed animals to the service which was held at Woodmount Christian Church – less than three miles from the site of the attack
Senior Pastor Clay Stauffer told them: ‘Evelyn could have been anything. But she chose to be a beacon of light and hope, love and joy to those around her. She was an incredible girl.’
A photo of Evelyn wearing a bright pink headband was used in the service programs while an obituary described her as ‘strong but never pushy,’ adding she had ‘poise beyond the years.’
‘This girl could read a room,’ read the obituary.
‘It was clear to everyone who knew her that Evelyn Dieckhaus knew who she was.
‘She understood where she would fit into any given scene and always where she was needed.’
The statement also paid tribute to her ‘infectious laugh’ and ‘angelic’ voice which she used to sing along to Taylor Swift and songs from the musical Hamilton.
Evelyn was shot alongside her schoolmates Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all aged nine.
School head Katherine Koonce, 60, substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, and school custodian Mike Hill, 61, were also murdered in the attack.
Services for Hallie and Peak are expected to take place on Saturday.
Evelyn was described as a ‘hero’ following the attack after it emerged she was trying to pull the fire alarm to save her classmates when she was shot.
An obituary for Evelyn described her as ‘strong but never pushy,’ adding she had ‘pose beyond the years. It added she had an ‘infectious laugh’ and ‘angelic’ voice
A photograph of Evelyn with her family was also included in the service booklet
Her aunt Kelly Dorrance said she believed Evelyn was heading a line of children in what she may have believed was a fire drill.
‘We’re finding out the shooter may have pulled the fire alarm to get kids out of their classroom,’ Dorrance said in a private Instagram post seen by the Daily Beast.
‘Evelyn being one of the class leaders was at the front of the line assuming fire drill.
‘She was trying to lead her classmates to safety and possibly didn’t hear the shouts to come back in the room. Things children should never worry about.’
Questions are still swirling over what possessed Hale, 28, to open fire on her former school.
She came armed with two rifles and a handgun and had apparently planned the attack in detail.
She was shot dead at the scene by law enforcement officials.
It is understood she was at odds with her devout Christian parents because they ‘couldn’t accept’ she was gay and transgender.
Church coordinator Norma, 61, and her husband Ronald, 64, refused to let Hale – who had recently adopted the name Aiden and used he/him pronouns – dress as a man in their home.
The memorial for Evelyn Dieckhaus marked the first to take place out of the six victims of Hale’s deadly rampage
Services for Hallie Scruggs and Cynthia Peak are expected to take place on Saturday
Evelyn was described as a ‘hero’ following the attack after it emerged she was trying to pull the fire alarm to save her classmates from Hale’s attack when she was shot
Questions are still swirling over what possessed Hale – who was born a woman but was reportedly living as a man – to open fire on her former school
The 28-year-old loner would instead wait until she left their $700,000 Nashville property to change outfits, a well-placed source told Dailymail.com.
On Thursday a chilling 911 call made by Hale’s friend at the time of the shootings was made public.
Averianna Patton received several disturbing messages from Audrey Hale, 28, on Instagram shortly before she started spraying bullets inside the Covenant School.
Hale sent the messages at 9.57am and had killed her victims by 10.10am.
After receiving one particular message from Hale saying: ‘I’m planning to die today – you’ll probably hear about me on the news’, Patton called a suicide hotline, which then encouraged her to contact the authorities to alert them to the situation.
She shot and killed three students, 9, and three staff members at 10:10am
In her 911 call at around 10:12am – when armed officers had already arrived on the scene – she said: ‘I’m just trying to see if anybody can help. I just don’t want it on my conscience.
”If somebody can go check on her – the only thing I have is her Instagram. Can I give you her Instagram so y’all can find her or track her that way?’
Separate 911 calls made from inside the school could hear a teacher inside the classroom say: ‘We think we hear gunshots.’
Weeping students can be heard over the sound of the roaring fire alarm and distant gunshots as one child added: ‘I want to go home.’
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk