Mass Shooting at Texas Church

A gunman in Sutherland Springs opened fire at a Sunday church service, killing at least 26

November 6, 2017
By David Montgomery, Christopher Mele, and Manny Fernandez
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP

Investigators at the scene of a deadly shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Sunday

A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a military-style rifle opened fire on parishioners at a Sunday morning service at a small Baptist church in rural Texas. The attack killed at least 26 people and turned the tiny town of Sutherland Springs into the scene of the country’s latest mass shooting.

The gunman was identified by the Texas Department of Public Safety as Devin Patrick Kelley, 26. Kelley, who lived in New Braunfels, Texas, died shortly after the attack. Authorities said on Monday that it looked like Kelley had killed himself.

Kelley started firing at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs not long after the Sunday morning service began at 11 a.m., officials said. He was armed with a Ruger military-style rifle, and within minutes, many of those inside the small church were either dead or wounded. The victims ranged in age from 5 to 72, and among the dead were several children, a pregnant woman, and the pastor’s 14-year-old daughter. It was the deadliest mass shooting in the state’s history. At least 20 more were wounded.

 “It’s something we all say does not happen in small communities, although we found out today it does,” said Joe Tackitt, the sheriff of Wilson County, which includes Sutherland Springs.

Speaking at a news conference in Japan, the first stop on his tour of Asia, President Trump called the shooting a “mental health problem at the highest level” and not “a guns situation,” adding the gunman was a “very deranged individual.” But the shooting is likely to fuel a debate in Washington over gun control that was already heating up in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Las Vegas last month that killed 58 people.

The motive for the attack was not yet clear.

Jim McMahon

Kelley had served in the Air Force at a base in New Mexico but was disciplined in 2012 on military charges of assaulting his wife and child. He was sentenced to 12 months’ confinement and received a “bad conduct” discharge from the Air Force in 2014, according to Ann Stefanek, the chief of Air Force media operations.

Sheriff Tackitt and other officials said the gunman first stopped at a gas station on Highway 87 across from the church. He then drove across the street, got out of his car, and began firing from the outside, moving to the right side of the church, the authorities said. Then he entered the building and kept firing.

The authorities received their first call about a gunman at about 11:20 a.m. Officials and witnesses said Kelley appeared to be prepared for an assault, with black tactical gear, multiple rounds of ammunition, and a ballistic vest.

“He went there, he walked in, started shooting people, and then took off,” said Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texas congressman who represents the region and who was briefed by law enforcement officials.

When Kelley emerged from the church, an armed neighbor exchanged gunfire with him, hitting Kelley, who fled in his vehicle. Neighbors apparently followed him, chasing him into the next county, Guadalupe County, where Kelley crashed his car. Kelley was found dead in his vehicle, after apparently shooting himself, Tackitt said.

At the church, he left behind a scene of carnage. Of the 26 fatalities, 23 people were found dead inside the church, two were found outside, and one died later at a hospital.

Hours after the attack, Scott Holcombe, 30, sat with his sister on the curb outside the emergency room at Connally Memorial Medical Center in Floresville, Texas. They were both in tears. Their father, Bryan Holcombe, had been guest preaching at the church, they said, and he and their mother, Karla Holcombe, were killed.

“I’m dumbfounded,” Holcombe said, also noting that his pregnant sister-in-law, Crystal Holcombe, had been killed. “This is unimaginable. My father was a good man, and he loved to preach. He had a good heart.”

President Trump Trump ordered that flags be flown at half-staff at the White House and all federal buildings through Thursday.

David Montgomery, Christoher Mele, and Manny Fernandez are reporters for The New York Times.  

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