President Biden awards Medal of Valor to responding officers at Covenant School shooting
“The medal recipients have exhibited exceptional courage—disregarding their own personal safety—in attempting to save or protect human life.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - President Joe Biden announced eight recipients of the Medal of Valor on Friday, including several officers who responded to the Covenant School shooting in 2023.
Sergeant Jeffrey Mathes, Officer Rex Engelbert, and Detectives Michael Collazo, Ryan Cagle, and Zachary Plese received the Medal of Valor for their response to the active shooting situation at The Covenant School on March 27, 2023. Officer Engelbert was not present for the presentation, but Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake stood with the officers in the Oval Office.
Biden is awarding the officers for their actions as they ran toward gunfire to take the shooter down who already took the lives of six people, including three students. Since the shooting that day, several responding officers have received honors, awards, and recognition for their brave actions that day.
“The nominees were recommended by the Attorney General and the Medal of Valor Review Board, whose members are appointed to four-year terms by the President, the Senate majority and minority leaders, the Speaker of the House, and the House minority leader. The medal recipients have exhibited exceptional courage—disregarding their own personal safety—in attempting to save or protect human life,” the White House said.
Previous Coverage:
On March 27, 2023, Sergeant Jeffrey Mathes, Officer Rex Engelbert, and Detectives Michael Collazo, Ryan Cagle, and Zachary Plese of the Nashville, Tennessee, Police Department ran towards gunfire to take down an active shooter at The Covenant School, a Nashville elementary school. The heavily-armed shooter had already killed six people, including three nine-year-old students. The officers rushed to the scene, and as they arrived, the shooter opened fire on them. Still, the officers entered the school, cleared classroom after classroom, and ran towards the sounds of gunfire where they encountered the shooter. They took down the shooter. Later that day, the President addressed the nation and commended the police for their swift response and bravery.
Other recipients of the Medal of Valor from Biden include a police sergeant from Nebraska who saved a woman from drowning, a New York fire lieutenant who rescued a mother and her child from a burning apartment, and a firefighter from New York who saved two unconscious victims from a burning apartment building.
Copyright 2025 WSMV. All rights reserved.
