What happened in Jacksonville, said longtime resident Rodney Hurst, 79, “could have happened anywhere, except it did happen in Jacksonville.”

The former student who shot through the doors of a Christian elementary school in Nashville and killed three children and three adults had drawn a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points.

Houses of worship are meant to be places of shelter, reflection and peace, where strangers are welcome. But the recent string of high-profile mass shootings in the U.S. is a reminder violence can happen anywhere, prompting some faith leaders to ramp up security.

Christians around the world are praying after two separate mass shooters in Ohio and Texas killed 29 people and inured about 50 in less than 24 hours. Officers gunned down the Ohio shooter and arrested the El Paso shooter as hundreds fled a crowded shopping center. While gun laws need to change, we must never stop being prayerful.