Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains deploy to McKeesport, Pennsylvania, after a police officer was shot and killed

BG-RRT Press Kit

The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (BG-RRT) has deployed to McKeesport, Pennsylvania, after a police officer was killed and another was injured during a shooting Monday. The officers were responding to a domestic call when they encountered the suspect, who opened fire. Just one month ago, BG-RRT law enforcement chaplains deployed to Brackenridge, Pennsylvania, not far from McKeesport, after the police chief there was shot and killed.

“Law enforcement in Allegheny County has once again suffered a tragic loss. Our hearts are heavy to hear about a McKeesport police officer killed,” said Josh Holland, international director of the BG-RRT. “Our National Law Enforcement Ministry, part of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, knows how important it is to minister to officers, their families and the community during these crisis situations. That’s why we are sending our trained law enforcement chaplains to listen, comfort, pray and share God’s love with those who have been impacted by this horrific tragedy.”

The crisis-trained team will begin ministry to the police department and community tomorrow.

BG-RRT chaplains are now providing emotional and spiritual support in six locations. Besides McKeesport, Pennsylvania, chaplains are also ministering to people in tornado-ravaged Selma, Alabama, and Griffin, Georgia. Chaplains are serving in two areas of Florida after Hurricane Ian battered the southwest coast of the state in September 2022. In addition, chaplains are offering hope and providing emotional comfort and spiritual care to families who have been forced to flee their homes in war-torn Ukraine.

For more information on the ministry, including videos, photos, news articles and an interactive map of former and current deployments, visit the BG-RRT press kit or BillyGraham.org/RRT. Updates can also be found at Facebook.com/RRTChaplains.

About the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team:

Media Opportunities
  • Josh Holland, international director for the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, will be available for interviews, as well as chaplain coordinators on the ground in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. For B-Roll, photos and media inquiries, please contact Christine Batchelder at cbatchelder@bgea.org, (704) 724-6851.

The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team was developed by Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It has since grown into an international network of chaplains in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia who are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. They have deployed to more than 680 disaster sites across the globe, including shootings, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes.

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Media Contact:
Christine Batchelder
cbatchelder@bgea.org

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