As published in Christian Post
After shooting and killing a security guard outside the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, a man entered the bar and proceeded to gun down security guards and employees. He then opened fire on the crowd that had gathered for college night. This attack comes on the heels of the mass shooting on October 27th at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh during their Shabbat morning services.
The Thousand Oaks shooting is yet another senseless act of mass violence which has left communities and churches around the country asking how they might respond to their family, friends and neighbors who are experiencing unimaginable loss from these events.
In the wake of the 2015 Umpqua Community College mass shooting in Oregon, Reverend Steve Walker, lead pastor at Redeemer’s Fellowship in Roseburg, Oregon, played an important role in the community’s recovery process. I spoke with pastor Walker, in search of insights about how the Christian community can best extend support to those who suffer in the wake of mass shootings like the Thousand Oaks, California tragedy.