Poignant reason Kelsea Ballerini opened CMT Awards with school shootings speech

Kelsea Ballerini opened this year's CMT Awards with an emotional speech pleading for the end of gun violence, referencing last week's shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville.

"Tonight's broadcast is dedicated to the ever-growing list of families, friends, survivors, witnesses, and responders whose lives continue to forever be changed by gun violence," she said, referencing the names of the six victims.

However, the speech was particularly poignant as Ballerini witnessed a school shooting as a teenager.

The now-29-year-old attended Central High School in her native Knoxville, Tennessee, growing up, and witnessed tragedy unfold in 2008 when a classmate shot another in the cafeteria.

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