LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Community members gathered Sunday night for a prayer walk, after two separate tragedies struck Shallowater on the same day Friday.
A Shallowater middle schooler died that day. Hours later, Mustang boys basketball coach Jay Lusk, along with his wife and son were injured in a head-on crash while returning home from San Antonio. The Lusk family was taken to a hospital in San Angelo and is expected to make a full recovery. The crash occurred the day before Lusk’s players competed in the regional championship.
Community members gathered at the school for the prayer walk Sunday night, which drew participants from Shallowater and surrounding areas. Ripley Youngblood, student pastor at The Message in Lubbock, was asked to speak.
“Jesus doesn’t promise that we won’t go through difficult seasons, he promises to be with us in the midst of this,” Youngblood said. “The pain of loss is not something that is unfamiliar to Jesus, he knows you, he knows your heart and he knows your pain.”
The group walked from campus to campus, praying over students and staff ahead of their return to school.
“One, it’s to show them that Jesus is king and Jesus is better and that we have something to hold on to in the dark times, and that’s Jesus. And that he’s better and Lord overall. But it shows us that we can gather together and mourn together and that we’re not alone,” Youngblood said.
Shallowater administrators said they have arranged counseling support in addition to the district’s own staff, coordinating with partners including Region 17 and Frenship ISD to provide additional resources.
Neighboring school districts posted on social media that they plan to wear blue Wednesday in support of the middle schooler who died.
A group of community members is also working to organize a fundraiser later this month to support both the Paris and Lusk families.
In a statement, Shallowater ISD said it is “extremely grateful for the outpouring of love and support shown by the community and the surrounding area.”
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