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Billy Graham Rapid Response Team sends chaplains to Florida

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team has deployed crisis-trained chaplains to the South Florida community of Parkland following a mass shooting Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

[READ MORE: Florida teen charged with 17 murder counts in school attack]

The attack, which was reportedly carried out by a former student, has claimed the lives of at least 17, and left many others injured.

“Our hearts break for the parents who sent their children to school, and are now with them in the hospital, or living a parent’s worst nightmare,” said Jack Munday, international director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. “So many lives have been forever changed by this evil act. As we pray for the students, faculty and families, we know God can bring hope and comfort, in Jesus Christ, in the darkest hours.”

Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said, “Pray for the students, staff, and families affected by the shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school. Also lift up law enforcement and first responders in your prayers.”

Chaplains arrived on-site Wednesday night, just hours after news broke of the attack. Additional chaplains are arriving Thursday, with more on standby to deploy as needed.

The effort in Parkland is the fifth deployment of the year for the crisis-trained chaplains. Every one of the deployments in 2018 has been gun-related.

The team responded to Benton, Kentucky in January after a shooter killed two students and injured 18 more in a school shooting.

Chaplains are currently in Westerville, Ohio, after two police officers were ambushed there last weekend. They’ve also ministered Richardson, Texas, and York, South Carolina after law enforcement officers were killed in those communities.

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