The largest Presbyterian Centre in the US held a prayer service on Monday during a mass shooting by a 25-year-old male bank employee in Louisville, Kentucky, that left at least five people dead and multiple others injured.
The shooting, which was livestreamed by the shooter, resulted in the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church (USA), which is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States, being locked down on Monday. The PCUSA, also known as the Presbyterian Centre, is just two blocks away from the bank where the mass shooting took place.
The Christian Post reported that the president of PCUSA, Kathy Lueckert, led a brief service as employees were unable to enter or exit the church.
“It’s a beautiful morning, and yet death is all around us. It’s a sad commentary that we have to have a service like this. We should not be here as we think about what has happened so close to us,” Lueckert said, as quoted in a PCUSA press release.
“I think of first responders who are processing all of this. I think of all those families who went to work today and won’t go home tonight. Life is so fragile and here we are again, thinking about the epidemic of gun violence in this country,” the organisation said.
The shooter, Connor Sturgeon, killed five colleagues with a rifle on Monday at the Old National Bank where he worked, the police said. Eight others were wounded in the attack, two of them critically.
The suspect, who officials said was livestreaming the rampage, was killed by the police after exchanging fire with them.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said one of of the victims was a close friend of his who had helped him with many issues and challenges in his life.
Several national political figures, including US President Joe Biden, issued statements on Monday deploring the violence in Louisville and urging action on gun legislation.