‘She is with God’: Community holds vigil for 11-year-old killed in Double Branch shooting
Families from Maury, Williamson and Marshall counties gathered for an emotional ceremony on the concrete bleachers of Spring Hill High School to remember the life of a local student, who weeks earlier was lost to a violent crime.
Battle Creek Middle School sixth-grader Kailee Grace Warren, 11, was killed alongside her mother and half brother during a shooting at their home on Double Branch Road, just south of her school at approximately 6 a.m. on Oct. 1.
Following an evening of worship hosted by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, an interdenominational Christian sports ministry, more than 150 attendees held a candle light vigil in honor of the 11-year-old student as the hot autumn day gave way to cooler temperatures.
Students, teachers remember classmate
Bowing their heads in prayer, they remembered the young pupil as a caring and joyful child.
Ashley Bradley, a fifth-grade teacher at Battle Creek and a FCA leader, led the vigil, recognizing the loss of Kailee and her loved ones.
“Tonight is a night for family and worshiping the Lord,” Bradley said. “She was 11, her brother was 20, and then her mom. I don’t know the reason, but I do know that she is in a better place. She is with God, and we will see her again.”
Bradley described Warren as quiet, thoughtful and happy.
“She didn’t hardly say anything,” Bradley said. “She always had a smile on her face, but that is the reason, we are doing the candle lighting.”
Bradley said Kailee's mother was from the area.
“We just need to pray for that family,” Bradley said. “The stepdad did get out, so now he has to try to piece together an absolutely broken life. I don’t know if he is saved but hopefully somebody will reach out to him and share the Gospel.”
Following the tragedy, the school district has implemented its mental health support plan and mobilized a team of counselors, who are offering their services to students and teachers at the middle school.
“We are saddened,” Mike Kinnard, Battle Creek’s principal told The Daily Herald following the shooting. “She was a very sweet young lady, and she will be missed.”
Holding the candles, the group sat in silence.
“All she did was smile,” said classmate Lilly Yahya, with tears in her eyes.
Yahya would sometimes carpool home with Kailee.
She and her fellow classmate Sarah White embraced one another as they held the burning candles in memory of Warren.
“She was really sweet,” White said. “We were not very close, but she would always be there if you needed somebody to talk too. She was very special to a lot of people.”
Several years ago, Kailee attended one of White’s birthday parties when the two were neighbors just a short drive from where Battle Creek Middle School now stands, following its completion in the summer of 2019.
“She was a very friendly girl,” her mother, Jennifer White added.
The memorial concluded FCA's "Fields of Faith" evangelistic service aimed at connecting young local athletes to the Christian faith.
“This was a horrendous event,” said Kirk Shepard, area director of FCA. “We have kids here tonight who were classmates and teachers who taught them. We want to give them an opportunity to start healing.”
More: Community rallies to help family after three slain on Double Branch Road
More: Maury County mother and her two children identified as victims in Double Branch Road shooting
Suspect in custody
The alleged shooter, Nathanial Pipkin, 22, who allegedlyopened fire on the family, was taken into custody hours after the shooting and has been arraigned by a local court.
He faces three charges of murder, three charges of aggravated assault and one count of attempted murder.
Pipkin was arrested more than 100 miles away by members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Monteagle police.
Monteagle police were able to identify his car, a silver Mustang, by confirming the license plate, leading to a traffic stop, Maury County Sheriff Bucky Rowland said. At the time of arrest, Pipkin was wearing ballistic body armor and multiple firearms were in plain view.
A gag order was placed on the criminal case instituted by Judge J. Lee Bailey in Maury County General Sessions Court Part II in Mt. Pleasant.
He remains in the Maury County Jail, being held without bond.
More: Gag order instituted in Pipkin criminal case, court date set for November
More: 'Unspeakable tragedy': Maury County shooting spotlights continued rise in gun violence
A mother and her two children killed
Kailee was the daughter of Traci Belcher McNeely, 44, who was also killed in the shooting alongside her half bother Carson Glenn Pipkin, 20, who attended Spring Hill High School.
Her stepfather Jesse McNeely was able to escape from the home and rush to a neighboring home to call 911.
A funeral service was held for the three last week.
More: 'A very sweet young lady': Battle Creek Middle mourns loss of 6th grade student
Kailee's obituary, shared by Spring Hill Funeral Home and Cremation Services, explained that she enjoyed being outdoors and especially loved visiting the mountains as well as being in the water and on the beach.
“Thank you all for coming,” Bradley said in closing. “If you don’t have a home church find one. They are all around.”
Kailee was most at peace when she was drawing, listening to music and playing games, according to her obituary.
“My God be with you,” Hannah Childs, a Battle Creek Middle student,said as she blew out her candle and raised it to the sky.
Reach Mike Christen at mchristen@c-dh.net. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeChristenCDH and on Instagram @michaelmarco. Please consider supporting his work and that of other Daily Herald journalists by subscribing to the publication.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: ‘She is with God’: Spring Hill holds vigil for Kailee Grace Warren
