by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) has sent a team of chaplains to the English city of Plymouth to offer prayer and counseling to residents devastated by Thursday’s mass shooting there, Christian Today (CT) reports.
On August 12, twenty-two-year-old Jake Davison went on a 12-minute shooting rampage, killing five people including his mother and a three-year-old girl, before killing himself.
Prior to the murders, Davison had taken to YouTube, posting misogynist content that echoed positions of “Incel” (short for involuntarily celibate), a hate movement of men who resent women and those who are sexually active. Police have not officially linked the murders to Davison’s posts, however.
Responding to the tragedy, BGEA quickly deployed a team to Plymouth to help with what the organization described as a time of need, CT reports. "Join us in praying for those who have been affected by this devastating incident," BGEA said in a statement.
As English churches also opened their doors to those in need of support following the murders, the Anglican Bishop of Plymouth, the Rt Rev Nick McKinnel said in a statement: “We need to bear in mind those for whom this has been the most terrible night. People who have lost loved ones, who are injured to commend them to our prayers and thoughts."