US Gymnast Shawn Johnson’s Children Horrified While on Lockdown in Nearby School During the Nashville Shooting

US Gymnast Shawn Johnson Nashville Shooting Nearby school on lockdown Nashville Covenant School school shooting heinous acts of violence

By Jo Anne Hubert , Parent Herald Mar 28, 08:33 pm

Photo: (Photo : Getty Images/Robin Marchant)

Another school shooting incident happened in America, and this time it hit close to home for the US gymnast and mom whose kids were attending school nearby the crime scene.

It was Monday, supposedly the start of another good school week, when a 28-year-old former student of the Nashville Covenant School, a Catholic private elementary school, opened fire inside the building, killing three kids and three adults, NBC News reported.

Hours later, Shawn Johnson took to Instagram to reveal that her two children, three-year-old daughter Drew Hazel East and 18-month-old son Jett James were locked down in a nearby school while the shooting incident was happening.

'Today changed me'

"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. Shaking. Crying. Heartbroken. Horrific," the gymnast wrote on her Instagram story Monday.

She further confirmed that the kids she shares with her husband, Andrew East, have already been taken home safely by their father.

Though relieved that her children were already safe at home with their parents, Johnson cannot help but feel "incredibly sad" and broken for all the parents and families dealing with the effects of the shooting incident, especially those who have lost their kids.

The athlete went on to express that the incident today "changed" her as she saw children in ambulances, police cars everywhere, children on various buses being transported to safety, "parents flying down the street, laying on their horns," people everywhere going in and out of both churches and schools looking for their children.

The athlete offers a prayer

The mother of two posted a series of Instagram stories, which consisted of a prayer for the parents and families whose kids will not be coming home forever and to all the students and school staff who witnessed the actual "heinous acts of violence" and the effects these will have on them, People reported.

She also posted a video her husband took while driving home with their children. It showed buses and vehicles lined up on the road, transporting children into the safety of their homes, to which she said her "mama heart is shattered."

Then she posted a photo of her with her two kids and a video where she could not stop crying while kissing them.

Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all nine years old, were the three students killed in the shooting, along with three adults, Cynthia Peak and Mike Hill, both 61, and Katherine Koonce, 60.

Authorities reported that the shooter had a detailed school map and that a "sense of resentment" might have pushed the suspect to make the horrific attack.