Texas Church Shooter Identified as Devin Kelley

Governor says mass shooting was worst in Texas history
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 5, 2017 10:56 PM CST
Updated Nov 6, 2017 12:01 AM CST
Texas Mass Shooting Suspect Was Kicked Out of Air Force
Investigators work at the scene of a deadly shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Sunday Nov. 5, 2017. eople.   (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

The death toll in Sunday's mass shooting at a Texas church has risen to 26 and while officials haven't publicly named the gunman yet, law enforcement sources tell the AP that the shooter was Devin Patrick Kelley, a 26-year-old man who lived on the outskirts of the San Antonio suburb of New Braunfels, around 35 miles away from the church in Sutherland Springs. An Air Force spokeswoman says Kelly received a bad-conduct discharge in 2014. He was court-martialed in 2012 and spent a year in confinement after allegedly assaulting his wife and child. The latest developments:

  • Pursued by an armed resident. In a press conference Sunday night, Texas Department of Public Safety regional director Freeman Martin said the gunman attacked the church around 11:20am dressed in black "tactical-type gear," CNN reports. Martin said after the massacre, an armed citizen engaged the suspect and then pursued his vehicle. He said after a chase, the gunman was found dead in his vehicle. It's not clear whether the suspect shot himself or was fatally shot by the citizen.

  • At least 20 injured. Martin said at least 20 people were injured in the shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, ranging in age from 5 to 72. They are being treated at a San Antonio-area hospital and some of them are in critical condition.
  • "We led police to him." Motorist Johnnie Lagendorff tells KSAT that he chased the suspect in his truck after witnessing the shootout and being approached by the armed citizen, who accompanied him. He says that after the suspect lost control out of his vehicle, the citizen kept his rifle on him. They led police to him when they arrived minutes later.
  • "Pure evil." Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the mass shooting was the worst in Texas history. "There are no words to describe the pure evil that we witnessed in Sutherland Springs today," he said, per the AP. "Our hearts are heavy at the anguish in this small town, but in time of tragedy, we see the very best of Texas. May God comfort those who've lost a loved one, and may God heal the hurt in our communities."

  • Pastor's daughter killed. Annabelle Pomeroy, the 14-year-old daughter of the church's pastor, was one of those killed in the shooting, mother Sherri Pomeroy says. "My husband and I were ironically out of town in two different states. We lost our 14-year-old daughter today and many friends," she tells CBS.
  • President Trump. Trump, speaking in Tokyo, called the shooting an "act of evil." "Victims and their families were in their sacred place of worship," he said. "We cannot put into words the pain and grief." He has ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and other public buildings until sunset on Thursday.
  • 7% of the town killed. The San Antonio Express-News reports that the farming community of Sutherland Springs had a population of 362 in the 2000 census, meaning the shooting wiped out around 7% of the town's population.
(More mass shootings stories.)

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