What Christians Should Know and Pray about in Response to This Week’s Headlines

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It's been a sobering, violent week in America, marked by an assassination, a school shooting, and a cascade of other threats. Charlie Kirk's assassination on Wednesday shocked the nation and drew swift condemnation from leaders across the political spectrum, who warned of a troubling future for America if there is not a course correction.

But it wasn't the only violence in the nation this week. 

Pastor Greg Laurie Calls for Spiritual Awakening

This week, Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in California said he is praying that another Jesus Movement will spread across the land, just as one did in the 1970s following an earlier era of violence. 

"Pray that there will be a spiritual awakening in America," he urged Christians. 

Denver-Area School Shooting at Evergreen High School

The same day Kirk was killed, a Denver-area school experienced a shooting that sent students fleeing into neighborhoods. The gunman was a 16-year-old student, Desmond Holly, who opened fire at Evergreen High School, critically wounding two classmates before killing himself. 

Holly appeared to have been radicalized online by extremist content. According to The Denver Post, social media accounts linked to the shooter contained antisemitic material, Holocaust denial, and numerous references to mass shootings. Investigators confirmed he showed an interest in past school attackers, including the Columbine gunmen, and posted a photo of himself days before the assault wearing a shirt resembling one used in that 1999 tragedy.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said Holly had been "radicalized through an extremist network." One TikTok photo of Holly mirrored a Columbine attacker's clothing choice, while another featured the 15-year-old gunman behind a deadly school shooting in Wisconsin last year. 

Holly entered the three-level school with a revolver and ample ammunition, law enforcement said. Sheriff's officials said Evergreen High's lockdown procedures prevented further bloodshed, as students barricaded classrooms, The Denver Post reported. Some ran into neighborhoods. 

"He would fire and reload, fire and reload, fire and reload," Kelley said. "This went on and on."

U.S. Naval Academy Lockdown in Annapolis, Maryland

On Thursday, a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., was injured while Naval Security Forces cleared a building following reports of suspicious activity. The campus was placed on lockdown out of caution, though officials later said there was no active shooter and no credible threat. The injured midshipman was flown by medevac to a hospital and is in stable condition. 

"Absolutely terrifying," Annapolis resident Anne Lillefloren told CBS News. "You are thinking, 'Oh my gosh, I know students there, I know staff there.' I walk around the academy almost every morning with my dad. So everyone who comes in contact, you're thinking: Oh, who could be there? Who could this reach? Just panic, and in today's climate, what can happen, all of these false reports, so you don't know what the truth is."

Stockton University Lockdown in Galloway, New Jersey

In Galloway, N.J., Stockton University's campus was placed on lockdown Thursday after police reported that two suspects in an off-campus shooting drove onto campus in a white Honda CR-V, prompting a shelter-in-place order for students and staff. The shelter order was later lifted. Authorities have not released details about the shooting itself or whether anyone was injured, FOX-29 reported. 

Hoax Threats Target Multiple HBCUs

Meanwhile, at least seven historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) received threats Thursday and took action by either locking down, cancelling classes or ordering students to shelter in place, according to various media reports. Those schools were Alabama State University, Bethune-Cookman University, Clark Atlanta College, Hampton University, Spelman College, Southern University and Virginia State University. All are located in the southwest. 

The FBI told NBC News the threats are a hoax.

"The FBI is aware of hoax threat calls to a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities," the agency said in a statement. "The FBI takes these threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention."

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/David Ryder/Stringer 

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

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