Custodian Mike Hill among victims of Nashville school shooting

He was a father of seven, a grandfather of 14, and to the man who hired him for his last job, probably a hero.

Mike Hill, 61, was among the six people killed this week by a heavily armed intruder who opened fire inside the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.

“I don’t know the details yet. But I have a feeling, when it all comes out, Mike’s sacrifice saved lives,” Tim Dunavant wrote on Facebook, according to People. “I have nothing factual to base that upon. I just know what kind of guy he was.”

A heart cross for Mike Hill placed March 28, 2023, at a makeshift memorial by the entrance of the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. The tribute is one of the six crosses built by members of the Lutheran Church Charities from Chicago. (Photo Credit: Mark Zaleski-USA TODAY NETWORK)

Three students, all 9 years old, and two other adults also were killed in the assault. The shooter was confronted by police officers and died at the school, People reported, citing a Nashville Police Department spokesman.

Dunavant, a pastor at Hartsville First United Methodist Church, used to work at Covenant, a private elementary school, and the church that founded it. “He was the last employee that I hired when I ran the kitchen,” Dunavant wrote. He said he waited until the victims’ names were officially released before posting anything.

Hill’s relatives, meanwhile, are remembering their patriarch as a family man who loved cooking.

According to WZTV, Fox 17 in Nashville, the family released a statement saying Hill also was “beloved by the faculty and students who filled him with joy.”

The family’s statement thanked the community for “continued thoughts and prayers” and said “we continue to ask for support” as they grieve, WZTV reported.

Dunavant ended his Facebook post with a message to Hill, according to People. “Goodbye Mike, I’m going to miss those encouraging texts out of the blue from you.”

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