The Metro Nashville Police Department reported that a man fatally shot his wife, a beloved teacher in the area, in their condominium in an apparent murder-suicide on June 15.
The victim was identified as Amina "Anna" Darbashi Pierce, who was a biology teacher and tennis coach at Hunters Lane High School. The department said that the shooter killed his wife at around 8:30 a.m. before taking his own life.
Nashville Teacher Killed by Husband
In a statement following the incident, Hunters Lane High School Executive Principal Sue Kessler said that the teacher just finished her seventh year of teaching at the school. The principal added that the victim loved to teach biology and 9th-grade students.
This was primarily because she believed that the relationships that she built with these young minds would help them through graduation and further in life. Kessler said the late teacher was one of the school's tennis coaches who worked tirelessly to get more students to play the sport, according to The Tennessean.
The school principal added that Anna Pierce enjoyed learning about leadership and was working on her licensure to become a principal herself. She said that the teacher was a mother to two girls who helped other educators navigate the mom-teacher balance.
An official investigation into the incident has shown that the couple argued about divorce and financial issues before the fatal shooting. Authorities said that they found a revolver under the man at the crime scene.
Police noted that the department's domestic violence division had no prior involvement with the couple. Additionally, court records showed that the suspect had a previous marriage where his then-wife accused him of mistreating her and their child, Yahoo News reported.
Documents Showing Erratic and Violent Behavior
There was also a divorce filing in 2017 against a man named Steven Pierce who matched the age and address of the latest suspect. The filing accused him of "erratic and violent behavior toward her and the minor child."
In a separate incident, a teaching assistant in France was fatally stabbed by a student outside a school in Nogent. Local media reports noted that the suspect who stabbed the 31-year-old victim was only 14 years old.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the teaching assistant was another victim of a "senseless wave of violence," declaring that the nation was in mourning. Lawmakers from both sides of the spectrum condemned the tragic incident and called for more action against knife crime, as per BBC.
