 FBI and ATF investigating Texas church massacre |
FBI and ATF investigating Texas church massacre |
At least 26 people were killed in Texas, with many more wounded, after a gunman opened fire at a church outside San Antonio on Sunday, the state's governor confirmed.
Multiple sources speaking to Fox News identified the gunman as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley. The mass shooting unfolded at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, which is about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio. Officials said it's unclear whether Kelley killed himself or was fatally shot by police.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said up to 27 people were killed and "many more" wounded after a man walked into the church around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday and opened fire at the crowd of people.
 Emergency personnel respond to a fatal shooting at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017. (KSAT via AP) |
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a press conference Sunday evening that the victims range in age from 5 to 72 years old. Another official said approximately 20 others were transported to hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to "very severe."
Sunday's shooting is the deadliest church shooting in modern U.S. history. It is also, according to Abbott, the deadliest in the history of Texas.
A possible motive was unclear. Kelly lived in a suburb of San Antonio and didn't appear to be linked to organized terrorist groups, a U.S. official told The Associated Press. The official said investigators were looking at social media posts Kelley may have made in the days before Sunday's attack, including one that appeared to show a semiautomatic weapon.
Rep. Henry Cuellar told Fox News that investigators believe the gunman drove to the church from Comal County, Texas.
"It is horrible," Wilson County Commissioner Larry Wiley told Fox News of the massacre. "It appears someone walked in and started shooting."
The church's pastor, Frank Pomeroy, said his 14-year-old daughter was killed in the shooting, according to ABC News.
"We have accepted a multiple number of patients from the shooting," Megan Posey, a spokeswoman for Connally Memorial Medical Center in Floresville, 15 miles from church, told Fox News. She said she did not have a specific number. She said doctors were assessing the patients.
Some victims were transported to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, KSAT reported.
 Law enforcement officials stand next to a covered body at the scene of a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP) |
Helicopters and emergency personnel were seen arriving at the scene. The FBI is also on scene.
The gunman, according to Wiley, was killed roughly five miles away in Guadalupe County after being cornered by deputies.
Police are checking the gunman's home for explosives, San Antonio Express-News reported.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told Fox News that "people never think" a shooting like this can "happen in their communities."
"In a small town, ... I can imagine that these people are devastated. And everyone in the community is going to ... have some type of close relationship" to those either killed or injured at the First Baptist Church.
He added it's "hard to justify why anyone would do this."
"This is horrific for our tiny little tight-knit town," Alena Berlanga, who lives 10 minutes outside of Sutherland Springs told The Associated Press. "Everybody's going to be affected and everybody knows someone who's affected."
President Trump, speaking from Tokyo during his trip to Asia, called the shooting an "act of evil," adding, "Through the tears and through the sadness, we stand strong."
Earlier, he tweeted: "May God be w/ the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas. The FBI & law enforcement are on the scene. I am monitoring the situation from Japan."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that "While the details of this horrific act are still under investigation, Cecilia and I want to send our sincerest thoughts and prayers to all those who have been affected by this evil act."
"I want to thank law enforcement for their response and ask that all Texans pray for the Sutherland Springs community during this time of mourning and loss," the statement read.
Sutherland Springs has a population of about 400 residents.
Sunday's shooting comes just over a month after 58 people were killed and hundreds injured on Oct. 1 after a gunman opened fire on a country music festival in Las Vegas.