Allentown Bishop Alfred Schlert mourned that so many lives were ended and others were disrupted in Tuesday’s shooting at a Texas elementary school and asked the faithful to pray for those affected by the tragedy.

“Please join me in prayer for the innocent children and adults who lost their lives in Uvalde,” Schlert said in a post on the Diocese of Allentown's Facebook page. “Their families and friends have had their lives forever changed.” 

Salvador Ramos, 18, shot and killed 19 fourth-grade students and two teachers and wounded 17 other people at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, during the Tuesday shooting spree; a Thursday AP News report said. 

Uvalde has a population of 16,000, many of whom are Hispanic. 

The AP reported that Ramos barricaded himself inside of a fourth-grade classroom and opened fire on those in the room, until police officers broke through the barricade and killed him.

Catholic bishops in America responded with a plea for an end to such violence. 

“There have been too many school shootings, too much killing of the innocent," a spokesperson for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said in a release this week. "Our Catholic faith calls us to pray for those who have died and to bind the wounds of others, and we join our prayers along with the community in Uvalde and Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller. As we do so, each of us also needs to search our souls for ways that we can do more to understand this epidemic of evil and violence and implore our elected officials to help us take action.” 

The Texas governor said he joins the nation in mourning,

“Texans across the state are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime and for the community of Uvalde," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a Tuesday press release from his office. "Cecilia and I mourn this horrific loss and we urge all Texans to come together to show our unwavering support to all who are suffering.” 

He thanked the first responders and said the state would do what it could to help the community.

“I have instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers to work with local law enforcement to fully investigate this crime,” the governor said. “The Texas Division of Emergency Management is charged with providing local officials all resources necessary to respond to this tragedy as the State of Texas works to ensure the community has what it needs to heal.”

Schlert offered a worrisome assessment of the national situation today.

“Violent evil is stalking our land,” he said in the Facebook post. “Going to school, attending a house of worship, or running to the grocery store should be the most normal of activities, not a potential death sentence.

“God grant us the strength to do whatever is necessary as a society: convert our hearts to respect all human life; change legislation where necessary; provide better mental health outreach; and free us from hatred and discrimination.”