Two Louisiana women killed in Nashville school shooting

Makenzie Boucher and Maggie Martin, Shreveport Times
·2 min read

Two Louisiana natives lost their lives in the shooting at the Covenant Presbyterian School in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday.

Cynthia Peak, 61, and Dr. Katherine Koonce, 60, were both natives of Louisiana working at Covenant Presbyterian School when 28-year-old Audrey Hale opened fire killing three adults and three children.

Peak was born and raised in Leesville and attended Leesville High School until 1977, when her family moved to Shreveport her sophomore year.

She graduated from Captain Shreve High School in 1979 and then Texas Christian University in 1983.

According to Peak's brother Bill Broyles, "She had an unwavering faith in Christ. She was a strong believer. She would want a positive approach on this to help God's kingdom on earth."

Peak leaves behind her husband, daughter and two sons.

United States Congressman Mike Johnson posted his thoughts on Facebook. "The terrible events in Nashville hit us very close to home here in the 4th Congressional District," he wrote. "One of the victims is Cindy Broyles Peak, who was a native of Leesville and a 1979 graduate of my alma mater, Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport. We join in prayer for the Peak and Broyles families, and all those affected by this senseless tragedy."

Koonce, a Baton Rouge native, was the head of Covenant Presbyterian School and had been there for nearly seven years. She was a graduate of Louisiana State University and University High Lab School.

Headshot for Dr. Katherine Koonce, head of school for the private Covenant School in Green Hills, where seven people, including Koonce, were shot and killed in a mass shooting there March 27, 2023
Headshot for Dr. Katherine Koonce, head of school for the private Covenant School in Green Hills, where seven people, including Koonce, were shot and killed in a mass shooting there March 27, 2023

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards released a statement late Tuesday. “Donna and I ask the entire state of Louisiana to pray for the families of Cynthia Peak, Katherine Koonce, and all the victims of Monday’s senseless, evil mass shooting in Nashville, Tennessee. When we send our loved ones off to school to learn or teach, we should never have to worry if they will make it home alive.”

Read: Covenant School shooting in Nashville: 3 children, 3 adults dead; victims' names released

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Teacher, principal killed in Nashville shooting from Louisiana