Tanglewood Middle School vigil: 'In this tragedy we are more united than separated'

In the last bit of daylight in a church yard in the shadow of a middle school where a student was shot and killed, a few people met to pray Thursday evening.

They prayed for healing, for the families of the victim and the suspect, both 12-year-olds at Tanglewood Middle School.

A second, more formal, vigil is being planned for Friday evening at 8 p.m. at Grace Bible Church in Greenville County.

Brandon Montgomery, a youth pastor at Relentless Church, said he had spent time as a mentor at Tanglewood and had moved to mentoring students at nearby Berea Middle School. There is a good deal of crossover between the two schools, he said.

Greenville can often be described as two different cities, two wildly different experiences for different groups of people, Montgomery said.

"But we are all together, in this tragedy we are more united than separated," Montgomery said.

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Montgomery said people are hurting, students are scared and they need peace.

The best and brightest days for the students, like those he mentored, should still be in front of them, he said.

The shooting makes this kind of mentorship more important and Montgomery said he will look into ways to get mentors like him into all of the area schools.

Jack Logan, who organized Thursday's impromptu vigil, is an advocate against child gun use. He said it is tragedies like this that drive his work and it is more vital than ever.

Pastor Calvin Murray said the shooting could have happened anywhere, and often does in further-off places.

When it happens closer to home, it becomes unavoidable and the pain cannot be held back, Murray said.

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Mike Ellis lives in Powdersville and tells South Carolina stories with a focus on Anderson County and Pickens County along with faith and investigations. He's always looking for the next story that people need to read, please send any tips or feedback to mellis@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Pastors pray during vigil at Tanglewood Middle School after shooting