Residents in Newport News, Virginia gathered Tuesday night to pray for peace and unity within their community after two high school students were injured during a shooting inside the school Monday.

Newport News police officers arrived at Heritage High School and found two 17-year-old victims, a boy and a girl, suffering from non-life-threatening gunshot wounds…

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The prayer vigil was organized by Dr. Tremayne Johnson, president of the Coalition of Concerned Clergy…

He said meetings are underway to address Monday’s shooting as well as the gun violence that occurred throughout the area this past summer…

In a statement, Police Chief Steve Drew said it was a blessing from God that the outcome wasn’t worse.

“It is by the grace of God there was no loss of life,” Drew said. “We know this will be difficult to process for everyone involved and hope students, families, and faculty members take advantage of the resources that have been made available to help them cope…”…

Newport News School Superintendent George Parker recalled the fear among students and staff during those terrifying moments.

“No superintendent, no teacher or principal would want to ever go through this situation,” Parker said. “Just seeing the faces of our students and how afraid they were under these circumstances and our staff who were traumatized….”

Additionally, Chief Drew said the shooting was particularly troubling for the police officers because many have children or family members who attend the school.

“We do the best we can to prepare, but this is different – there’s real human emotion,” Drew said…

Share a prayer in the comments below for our nation’s schools, and for a spirit of violence to be restrained.

(Excerpt from CBN News. Article by Andrea Morris. Photo Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images).