Two people with connections to The Salvation Army were among the 18 victims of the recent mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. Now that the shooter has been found dead, the local corps is playing crucial role in helping the mourning community.

After a two-day lockdown as police searched for the shooter, The Salvation Army is active in a multiagency Family Assistance Center that opened the following Saturday—just a day after the gunman was found.

Major David Irwin, the co-commander of The Salvation Army’s Lewiston/Auburn Corps, said he hopes grief counseling and emotional and spiritual help can be offered to grieving families. A longtime congregant of the local church and an employee of the local thrift store both lost relatives in the shooting.

Major Irwin added, “We appreciate the prayers from everybody and all the support we can get in helping these individuals and the families here in town,” “That’s our priority right now, just helping people find some form of normalcy in their life, find answers for themselves, and explaining why this sort of thing happens in the world.”

To learn about the ongoing healing taking place in this community, visit SACONNECTS.ORG