CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. _ Hundreds of mourners gathered at Parkridge Church in Coral Springs on Thursday afternoon for a prayer vigil, just minutes away from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High. Families filled a shaded church courtyard and playground as religious leaders led them in song and prayer.
"Father we pray that into our broken heart you would speak peace," said Rev. Doug Sauder of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, asking the mourners to put their hands on the shoulders of the people next to them.
Parents held their children and strangers touched those seated in front of them as they whispered prayers.
Amid the pleas to God, there were also calls to action.
"None of our churches touched that child," said Broward County school board member Rosalind Osgood, referring to the suspected gunman, Nikolas Cruz. "We need to reach out to those children who are not in our immediate community."
More than a dozen religious leaders from local churches addressed the mourners. They each offered prayers, some in English, some in Spanish, some in Creole, for different groups impacted by the tragedy: for the students, the schools, the first responders, the teachers, the school workers.
Rev. John Jones of First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale prayed for the high school athletic director and football coach who lost their lives trying to save students. "Martyrs who saved and selfishly gave themselves to protect their students, their friends," he said.
And there was also a prayer for the suspected shooter.
"We pray for Nikolas and for his extended family," said Rev. Eddie Bevil of Parkridge Church. "We ask you would intervene in his disturbed mind."
At the end of the vigil, the mourners stood and sang "Amazing Grace" as a guitarist played.
The church leaders filed off the stage. They each released a silver balloon into the air as the teens in the crowd filmed on their phones.
At the back of the playground, a woman broke into sobs. Mourners hugged and held hands.
