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Mass Shooting at a 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 work at the scene of a deadly mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on November 5. 

A gunman wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying a military-style rifle opened fire at a small Baptist church in rural Texas on Sunday morning. 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 morning service began at 11 a.m., officials said. The victims range in age from 5 to 72. 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 Donald Trump called the shooting a “mental health problem at the highest level” and not “a guns situation.” The gunman was a “very deranged individual,” Trump added. But the shooting is likely to further fuel a debate in Washington, D.C., over gun control that was already heating up in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, last month that killed 58 people.

The motive for the attack was not yet clear. 

A Troubled Past

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

Kelley had served in the Air Force at a base in New Mexico. In 2014, he received a “bad conduct” discharge, 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 across Highway 87 from the church. He drove across the street, got out of his car and began firing from the outside, the authorities said. Then he entered the building and kept firing.

The authorities received their first call about a gunman around 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.

"This is Unimaginable"

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

For resources on how to talk to kids about tragedy, click here.

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