CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — A local church in Chesapeake hosted a candlelight vigil on Wednesday to pray for those impacted by the mass shooting.
Nearly 30 people from the Chesapeake community came together at St. Thomas Episcopal Church to take a moment and pray for those impacted by Tuesday’s mass shooting at Walmart.
“A few of us can stop on behalf of everyone else and say this is not right. We don’t want this in our community,” said Rev. Mark McKone-Sweet.
Rev. McKone-Sweet tells 10 On Your Side he couldn’t sit and do nothing after learning there was an active shooter at the Walmart just down the street from his church. The shooting comes less than two weeks after three UVA football players were shot and killed while returning from a field trip to Washington D.C.
“It’s just one after another. My fear and that’s the reason why we’re here tonight is that this is now normal. I’ve been watching this crescendo for the last 10/15 years of violence and it just breaks my heart. It breaks my heart,” said Rev. McKone-Sweet.
The pastor encourages those struggling with Tuesday’s heinous crime to take some time for themselves and know that it’s okay to take a step back.
“When we have these moments of violence, these moments of tragedy, these moments of loss, these moments of confusion to be able to say our life does stop,” stated Rev. McKone-Sweet.