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During remarks at the White House on Monday afternoon, President Joe Biden said gun violence is “ripping at the very soul of this nation” and the shooting is “every parent’s worst nightmare,” before calling on Congress to pass his proposed assault weapons ban.

Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican who represents the district where Covenant is located, said in a tweeted statement that he was “utterly heartbroken by this senseless act of violence.” As Insider pointed out, in 2021, Ogles posted a photo of his family posing in front of a Christmas tree holding rifles.

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Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, tweeted an anodyne statement saying she is praying “for those affected”—pointedly ignoring the pro-gun policies her party has championed for decades. The NRA has spent over $1.3 million in support of her political career, according to Brady, the nonprofit gun control group.

Covenant School is attached to Covenant Presbyterian Church and has a student body of roughly 200. There are between 40 and 50 adults in the building on any given day, Don Aaron, a police department spokesman, said.