News
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed dismay at the tragic shooting in California (USA) during which a gunman killed 12 people before taking his own life.
"We convey our grief to the community, to the families, to those who escaped but will carry the trauma of violence with them,” Tveit said.
Among the dead was a sheriff's sergeant who was the first officer inside the door.
“Mass shootings are becoming a terrifying, repeat occurrence,” Tveit said. "We pray for healing and help in the days ahead, for the victims and for the family of the perpetrator, who may himself have been traumatized by war.”
The attack is the deadliest in the USA since 17 students and teachers were killed at a Parkland, Florida, high school nine months ago. It came less than two weeks after a gunman killed 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.
“The WCC denounces all violence, and we continue on a journey of love to find the root causes of and the solutions for the kind of violence that afflicts us all,” said Tveit. “We will work with you toward peace, we will stand with you in sorrow, and, together, we pray that God will lend us all strength and wisdom."
