Texas school shooting leads community to pray

A community prayer service is already in the works just hours after a shooting at a Texas high school.

“With the hurricane and now this, so many people’s lives have really been affected in the last year,” Russell McLaughlin, minister for the Midway Church of Christ near the town of Santa Fe, told The Christian Chronicle.

At least ten people are dead and many others injured after a shooting Friday morning at a nearby Texas high school.

The shooting happened Friday morning at Santa Fe High School in a rural community between Houston and Galveston.

Witnesses say a gunman walked into an art class between 7:30 and 7:45 a.m. and started shooting, according to Houston television station KTRK.

“Everyone is kind of in shock,” McLaughlin said.

Officials with the Santa Fe Independent School District posted numerous updates on Twitter, including details about explosive devices that were found in — and in areas around — the high school.

Police have taken one student into custody, and another person has been detained.

McLaughlin said several of the congregation’s youth attend Santa Fe High School. There are also several members who work for the school district. As far as church leaders know, none of the members was injured. However, McLaughlin said several of the young people do know some of the victims.

The church, which is about nine miles south east of the school, is planning a community prayer service for Saturday. Exact times have not been announced.

McLaughlin said right now the main thing the community needs is prayer.

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