Heavy/ABC/Getty Many DWTS pros are reacting to the tragic shooting in Nashville.
Many “Dancing With the Stars” pros took to Instagram on March 27, 2023, after hearing about the tragic shooting that occurred at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.
Police believe 28-year-old Audrey Hale, now deceased, is responsible for the deaths of six people at The Covenant School; three children, all age 9, and three adults.
After the news was reported, many members of the DWTS family shared their heartbreak over the situation. Many of them are parents themselves and hearing that children were killed while at school stirred up some serious emotions.
Here’s what you need to know:
‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pros, Including Lindsay Arnold & Jenna Johnson, Posted About the Shooting on Their Instagram Stories
Although the DWTS pros who commented on the news do not live in Nashville, they were left shocked and heartbroken and were left with varying of emotions after hearing the news.
“This just makes me absolutely sick. Thinking about sending my baby to school now gives me anxiety and an insane amount of fear. HOW IS THIS STILL HAPPENING????? Thinking about this community, these students, the families, their teachers, and the poor innocent angels that were lost today,” Jenna Johnson wrote on her Instagram Stories. Johnson and her husband Val Chmerkovskiy just welcomed their first child together in January 2023.
“Absolutely heartbroken over the news of todays shooting. My heart genuinely hurts for the families who have loved ones that will not be coming home tonight and for the students and teachers who had to witness this horrific act of violence. I am praying for everyone affected and holding my sweet Sage extra tight tonight,” Lindsay Arnold posted on her Stories. Arnold is a mom to a toddler and is expecting another baby in May 2023.
“Heartbreaking. When will this freaking end,” Daniella Karagach captioned a repost of a video that Shawn Johnson’s husband created on her Stories. Karagach and DWTS pro Pasha Pashkov are expecting their first child together in May 2023.
“This makes me so angry, it breaks my heart. What can we do? I’ll continue to pray and send my love to everyone effected. This kind of evil is sickening,” Witney Carson said on her Instagram Stories. Carson has a toddler son named Leo and is expecting another baby boy in May 2023.
“Absolutely devastating,” Alan Bersten wrote on his Instagram Stories. “My thoughts and prayers are with these families and loved ones,” he added.
Derek Hough’s fiancee Hayley Erbert also posted about the shooting on her IG Stories.
“This is devastating,” she wrote. “Something has to change!!”
‘Dancing With the Stars’ Champ Shawn Johnson’s Kids Were on Lockdown at Their Schools in Nashville
DWTS champ Johnson lives in Nashville with her husband, Andrew East, and their two young children, Drew and Jett. Johnson posted some information on her own Instagram Stories about her kids’ schools being on lockdown and how she was feeling, especially after being reunited with them.
“We got notified of an active shooter in our neighborhood this morning. We rushed to school to pick up the kids. We found out the shooter was not at our kids school, but one right in the vicinity. Our family is safe, but can’t imagine what some other families are going through,” East captioned the video.
Johnson and East were able to pick up their children and bring them home safely. “Today has changed me,” Johnson wrote on her Instagram Stories hours after the shooting was first reported.
DWTS champ Kaitlyn Bristowe also lives in Nashville and posted about the shooting.
“I watched the Bachelor tonight. As much as I want to love and support all these women and the happy couple, my whole heart and soul feel rocked by what happened in Nashville today,” Bristowe wrote on her Instagram Stories.
“I feel like at this point we are all waiting for the next tragic event to happen. How sick is that? I used to ask ‘when will it end?’ Coming to the realization that it won’t is bringing me to a new low. I will be doing what I can to help support this community and these families,” she added.
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