Community grieves, gathers for prayers in wake of tragedy

People hold hands during a prayer vigil at Redemption Point Church on Thursday, July 16, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The vigil followed a shooting at both the Lee Highway Armed Forces Career Center and the Naval Operational Support Center on Amnicola Highway which left five dead, including the shooter, and a Chattanooga police officer wounded. People hold hands during a prayer vigil at Redemption Point Church on Thursday, July 16, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The vigil followed a shooting at both the Lee Highway Armed Forces Career Center and the Naval Operational Support Center on Amnicola Highway which left five dead, including the shooter, and a Chattanooga police officer wounded.

By Alex Green July 17, 2015 4 min read

While the FBI raided a suburban home and Amnicola Highway employees waited, trapped by police activity, and victims’ families huddled in the emergency room, a city was gathering to grieve.

In small, neighborhood churches, in arena-style sanctuaries, in ornate and intimate Catholic services, Chattanoogans, from all walks of life, stopped to pray for the families of those killed Thursday and to try to glean some meaning out of the tragedy that unfolded so unexpectedly.

Prayer vigils

* At UTC, the Student Veterans Organization is holding a vigil on campus at 9 a.m. today at the Fifth Street flagpole, open to all the public. * The Bessie Smith Cultural Center will be hosting a prayer vigil on the lawn of the center today at 5:30 p.m. to pray for the City of Chattanooga. * Olivet Baptist Church will have an interfaith prayer vigil at 5:30 p.m.

Today’s coverage

* DesJarlais plans bill allowing qualified military personnel to carry sidearms at military installations * Nightmare for our city: Federal investigation vowed after four Marines killed * Who was Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez? * Timeline of terror in Chattanooga shootings * Cook: On a normal Thursday morning, everything changed * Tragedy will not define us, our city will heal * Shooting shatter’s city’s sense of innocence

Photo Gallery

Chattanoogans gather at prayer vigil after recruiting center shootings

Greg, left, and Leslie Walker hold hands during a prayer vigil at Redemption Point Church on Thursday, July 16, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The vigil followed a shooting at both the Lee Highway Armed Forces Career Center and the Naval Operational Support Center on Amnicola Highway which left five dead, including the shooter, and a Chattanooga police officer wounded.

Stephanie Rhoades holds her son Peyton during a prayer vigil at Redemption Point Church on Thursday, July 16, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The vigil followed a shooting at both the Lee Highway Armed Forces Career Center and the Naval Operational Support Center on Amnicola Highway which left five dead, including the shooter, and a Chattanooga police officer wounded.

Thursday’s coverage

* Live updates * Sympathy for victims pours in following Chattanooga shootings * What we know about the shooter * Latest national updates on Chattanooga * Eyewitnesses recount moments of tragedy