AURORA, CO (ANS) -- Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains are already on-site in Aurora, CO, where a gunman opened fire on a theater full of moviegoers in the early hours of the morning.

Century Theater Complex where shootings occurred in Aurora, Colorado (Courtesy BGEA website).

Chaplains were already in Colorado responding to wildfires in and around Colorado Springs and Fort Collins. This allowed them to respond immediately to the shooting in Aurora, according to an online report on the BGEA website.

News reports indicate that 71 people were shot, at least 12 victims have died, and 59 were injured as a result of the shooting.

“Words can’t begin to describe the pain of this situation,” said Jack Munday, director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. “We are grieving alongside the families of those killed and wounded in this senseless and horrific tragedy.

“Please pray for all of those who have been affected,” added Munday. “We will be there to offer emotional and spiritual care, and the hope and compassion of Jesus Christ, in the aftermath.”

Previously, Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains have deployed following shootings in Tucson, AZ. (2011); Cumbria, U.K. (2010); Maryville, IL., Carthage, N.C., Oakland, CA, and Binghamton, N.Y. (2009); Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL. (2008); Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, VA, Crandon, WI., and Arvada, CO. (2007); and the Red Lake Indian Reservation in MN (2005).

** Michael Ireland is the Senior International Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can make a donation online under 'Donate' tab, then look for 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' under 'Donation Category' to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' Michael is a member in good standing of the National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior International Reporter