Retired minister offers advice to communities who are left to heal after mass shootings
JACKSON, Tenn.–After Wednesday’s school shooting in Minneapolis, one retired Methodist minister shared information on how to support each other during this time, after witnessing a similar tragedy.
Dr. Barry Scott was a minister during a mass school shooting in Mayfield, Kentucky.
The Heath High School school shooting of 1997, left 3 students dead and 5 injured.
“One of our members who was a teacher, he actually held one of the girls in his arm that unfortunately died,” Dr. Barry Scott, a retired Methodist minister shares.
Scott still remembers the day the shooting in Kentucky occurred.
At the time, the church–where he was pastor working– had students who attended Heath High School.
Similar to the school shooting in Minneapolis, students were in a prayer circle when they were targeted.
“It really is like a mini 9/11 kind of event for a town or a community,” Scott says.
During the time of this incident, it wasn’t as common for school shootings to occur.
Plus, there weren’t training sessions to help prepare a community for this type of loss or to prevent these shootings.
“Encourage any young people that are struggling with the aftermath of the shooting to, hey there is help available,” he adds.
He says you may feel hopeless but Scott offers some support.
“Everybody is bending over backwards to be available and that’s the way I felt it as a pastor. There is a sense in which you feel totally helpless and you’re dealing with the same shock as everybody else,” Scott says.
Scott says there are trained professionals who can help with spiritual counseling and other needs for those who find themselves in these situations.
“Religious and trained secular counselors, advisors, your own parents. People want to help you through this. You don’t have to walk through it alone,” he shares.
Also, Scott says reach out to those who may be overlooked to stop them before its too late.
“If you see a young person that seems to be going off the rails for whatever reason. You begin to see some warning signs. Encourage young people to speak up and see if you can get that person help,” he adds.
Scott also offers his condolences and prayers to the victims family of the Minneapolis shooting.
