Sheryl Crow Performs, First Lady Jill Biden Attends Vigil for Nashville School Shooting Victims

Sheryl Crow and Jill Biden
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The vigil comes just days after three adults and three children were killed in a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.

A candlelight vigil was held in Nashville on Wednesday to honor the three children and three adults killed in the mass school shooting at The Covenant School earlier this week.

Sheryl Crow was among the local resident artists who performed during the vigil as hundreds of people gathered to mourn the tragic loss of life.

Crow, who has been a Nashville-area resident for more than 15 years, accompanied herself at a piano to sing "I Shall Believe," a hymn-like track from her 1993 album, Tuesday Night Music Club

"Come to me now, and lay your hands on me," Crow sang. "Say it will be all right, and I shall believe." She ended the song with the chorus of Dionne Warwick’s "What the World Needs Now (Is Love, Sweet Love)."

Margo Price, an outspoken advocate for gun safety, also performed, singing an a cappella version of Bob Dylan’s "Tears of Rage."

Both Price and Crow spoke out on social media in the wake of Monday's fatal shooting, calling not just for gun safety but an end to the senseless violence that continues in this country.

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Also in attendance, was first lady Jill Biden, along with a host of local and state elected officials, police officers, and clergy members.

Speaking to the crowd, Nashville Mayor John Cooper thanked mourners for gathering after what he called was the city's "worst day."

"Just two days ago was our city's worst day," Cooper said. "And Deputy Mayor Heywood and Laura and I want to thank all of you for being here today. I so wish we did not need to be here, but we need to be here. Together."

Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake also spoke at the vigil, and asked for continued support as the city grapples with the aftermath of Monday's shooting.

"Our police officers have cried and are crying with Nashville and the world. I have cried and continue to cry and have prayed for Nashville as well," Drake said. "From your support we gather strength and the will to carry on in the protection of our city. May you too be strong as we face the coming days."

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Jill Biden, meanwhile, did not speak at the event, but stood silently and solemnly as she watched the proceedings. Back in Washington, D.C., her husband, President Joe Biden, has been calling on Congress to ban assault weapons in response to the Covenant shootings.

Police have said a 28-year-old former student drove up to the school Monday morning, shot out the glass doors, entered and began firing indiscriminately.

The dead were identified as as students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9 years old; Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and custodian Mike Hill, also 61.

Authorities have not yet determined the shooter's motive but say the assailant did not target specific victims.

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