Vigil planned for ‘prayers of comfort, hope’ after Arlington Bowie High School shooting
St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Arlington will host a vigil for the community Friday night in the wake of a school shooting that killed one student and led to the arrest of another on Wednesday.
The vigil will be “a time of meditation and reflection as we offer prayers of comfort, hope, and healing for Bowie High School and the surrounding community,” the church said in a news release.
The service will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, and all are welcome to gather for the event at St. Andrew’s UMC, 2045 SE Green Oaks Blvd.
“This community-wide service creates space for those affected by violence to gather with a community in solidarity, to mourn and grieve together the loss of a peer and loved one, and to offer a space of care for anyone who may need comfort in these days,” the release said.
Arlington police said Thursday that they are still working to determine the motive and what led to the shooting, but investigators believe the accused shooter, 17-year-old Julian Howard, knew and targeted the victim, 18-year-old Etavion Barnes. Both were students at Bowie High School.
“The tentacles of violence have reached into many lives, and in this service we say that love’s reach is longer still,” church officials said. “Care and healing may be found as we seek it together — across our community and hold one another’s grief as sacred. Together, the community’s voice is one of both lament and hope yearning for and working toward the well-being, safety, and flourishing of not only our children, families, school, and community, but all children, families, schools and communities.”
