CARMEL — Wednesday night, Carmel United Methodist Church held a prayer vigil to honor the lives lost in two of the country's most recent mass shootings: Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York.
Minister Jessica Stevens & Pastor Tim Burchill did not mince words about the need for action from elected leaders to try and prevent more tragedies from becoming reality.
They spoke about common-sense gun control measures along with ensuring mental health resources are readily available to the community.
They're urging everyone to reach out to elected leaders to get them to take action.
"I know we keep saying 'never again, never again,' but we just have to make sure as a community we come together and come up with a plan and take action on what needs to be done to address this," Adam Assen, a Carmel city councilman, said.
Assen was there as a councilman and a concerned parent.
"Over the last two decades, people have sent their kids off to school and the kids haven't come back. No one should have to worry about that when they send their kid to school," he said.
For many kids, including Stevens', Wednesday was their last day of school.
"I was just praying they would be safe," Stevens said. "It's something that parents have to think about on a regular basis. Are my children going to be safe? Are they going to be protected when I'm not with them and we don't know."
However, she points out that Carmel Clay's policies do give her some peace of mind.
"Every time I go in, they know me, but they still have to buzz me in, they still check my ID, verify my name," she said.
But Stevens knows the schools can only do so much. She hopes state and federal leaders see the anguish and pain shootings like this cause and decide to take action.
-
Victim identified in shooting on Indy's near southwest side
Officers responded to the 2000 block of West Morris Street on the report of a person shot. The victim has died.
Suspect in deadly FSU shooting is son of sheriff's deputy and used her weapon
A 20-year-old Florida State University student and son of a sheriff's deputy opened fire on campus Thursday just before noon, killing two people and injuring multiple others, according to police.
State revenue forecast meeting: Senate has to cut $2.4 billion from the budget
State lawmakers said there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the economy, resulting in major cuts in the state's budget. A move lawmakers consider to be very concerning.
'HEINOUS CRIME': 2 dead, at least 6 injured in shooting at FSU
Two people are dead and at least six people are recovering in the hospital after a gunman opened fire at Florida State University, police said.
