NASHVILLE, Tenn. — There wasn't a student at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, that Mike Hill didn't know, according to his longtime friend, Pastor Jim Bachmann. Hill, a custodian at the school, was one of six people killed in Monday's shooting.
"Everybody loved Mike. Mike knew the kids in the school, knew their names, and took a personal interest in them," Bachmann said on "CBS Mornings."
Hill was a father of seven and a grandfather to nearly a dozen grandchildren. Bachmann described him as a great man.
The two shared a special bond when they worked together at The Covenant School and often talked about their faith.
"I was a senior pastor. I'm White. He's Black. It didn't make any difference," Bachmann said. "We talked about faith. We talked a lot about his love life. We just, we got along famously."
As the community grieves the loss of Hill and the other victims, Bachmann encourages people to cherish life.
"We need to love each other, and we need to learn to disagree agreeably, and learn how to forgive," he said.
Authorities identified the other victims of the shooting as 9-year-olds Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, as well as 61-year-old Cynthia Peak and 60-year-old Katherine Koonce, who was the head of The Covenant School.