A gunman opened fire Sunday at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, in a rural area of Wilson County, southeast of San Antonio. He killed 26 people, many of them children.
Here's what we know:
- Dead and injured: Texas Department of Public Safety regional director Freeman Martin said that in addition to the 26 killed in the incident, 20 were wounded — 10 critically and 4 seriously. The others received relatively minor injuries.
- The weapons: Fred Milanowski, an official from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the gunman, Devin Kelley, was in possession of a Ruger AR15-type semiautomatic rifle and two handguns. The Ruger was dropped outside the church, and the handguns were found in his vehicle. Kelley was able to buy the guns in light of the fact that he had been court-martialed for domestic violence. Kelley had 15 magazines and emptied all of them. The Air Force failed to flag Kelley as banned from buying weapons in federal databases, the Air Force acknowledged Monday.
- Clues to motivation: Martin described the tragedy as possibly arising from a "domestic situation" involving the shooter's mother-in-law, a congregant at the church. He mentioned "threatening texts" sent by Kelley. "We can tell you that there was a domestic situation going on within this family," Martin said. "This was not racially motivated, it wasn't over religious beliefs."
- Ages of victims: Martin said those killed ranged in age from 18 months to 77 years old, and those wounded ranged from between 5 and 72 years old.
- Gunman's background: The gunman received a bad-conduct discharge from the Air Force in 2014. He was court-martialed in 2012 for assaulting his wife and children, and the Comal County Sheriff's Office is also re-examining a sexual assault case from 2013 that was never fully investigated because Kelley had moved out of state.
The gunman
The gunman was identified as Devin Kelley, 26, of nearby Comal County, Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety tweeted on Monday morning. Martin said police found the gunman dead in his car following a pursuit and believe Kelley killed himself.
Suspect in Sutherland Springs shooting confirmed to be Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, of New Braunfels, TX. More info to be released later today.
— Texas DPS (@TxDPS) November 6, 2017
Martin said Kelley was dressed in black and wore a ballistic vest. He began firing outside the church and then entered the building and continued firing. As he left the church, Stephen Willeford, a local resident with a rifle, pursued the gunman, who dropped his Ruger AR assault-type rifle and fled.
Investigators confirmed that the suspect was shot at that time by Willeford. The killer was pursued by Willeford and Johnnie Langendorff, who had a truck. The suspect called his dad and told him he did not believe he was going to make it.
Officials confirmed the shooter suffered three gunshot wounds: two from Willeford in the leg and torso and once in the head, self-inflicted. The final shot killed him, officials say.
Community members are praising Willeford and Langendorff for their actions in stopping the gunman.
Bad-conduct discharge
Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told USA TODAY that Kelley served in the 49th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico from 2010 until he was discharged.
Officials said the Air Force did not submit Kelley's criminal history to the FBI, as required by the Pentagon. Background checks found no "prohibited" information that prevented him from purchasing firearms.
Kelley was court-martialed in 2012 for assaulting his spouse and their child. He received a bad-conduct discharge, was confined for 12 months and busted to the grade of E-1. He was discharged in 2014.
The FBI stated Tuesday that the Department of Defense is responsible for submitting all dishonorable discharges to criminal databases for the Air Force.
Motive
Officials said they have not confirmed a motive for the attack. However, on Monday morning investigators said there was a "domestic situation" ongoing between Kelley and his in-laws, who attended the church but weren't present at the time of the shooting.
Authorities explained that Kelley had recently sent threatening texts to his mother-in-law. However, Texas Department of Public Safety regional director Freeman Martin said he believed there was more motivating the shooter than just a family conflict.
"There are many ways he could have taken care of the mother-in-law without coming with 15 loaded magazines with an assault rifle to church," he said.
"I think he came with a purpose and a mission."
At a press conference Tuesday, the Texas Department of Public Safety investigators said they cannot access the suspect’s phone, and it has been sent to an FBI crime lab for further investigation.
The investigators repeated they believe the incident involved a domestic situation within his family and said it was not racially motivated or over religious beliefs.
The church, located about 25 miles southeast of San Antonio, normally posted video of its services online, Tackitt said. But he said there was "very little" video from Sunday's service.
Number of dead and injured
At least 26 people were killed, and the youngest victim was only 18 months old, investigators confirmed on Monday morning.
Of the deceased, 23 died inside the church, two were killed outside and another victim was transported to a hospital and died, said Texas Department of Public Safety regional director Freeman Martin.
Sheriff Joe Tackitt of Wilson County, where Sutherland Springs is located, told USA TODAY that 12 to 14 children were among the victims.
“It’s just a horrific sight,” Tackitt said of the scene inside the church. “You don’t expect to walk into a church and see something like that, especially when all the bodies were there, and seeing the children. That’s what hurts the most.”
Who are the victims?
Officials say they will not officially release the identities of the victims until they receive confirmation from the medical examiner’s office. Family members who lost loved ones have begun to share their stories.
Three generations of the Holcombe family were killed. Bryan Holcombe was a guest pastor that day and was about to address the church. His wife, Karla, was also killed, along with several family members:
Marc – son of Bryan and Karla
Noah – infant daughter of Marc
Crystal – daughter-in-law of Bryan and Karla, she was eight months pregnant
Emily – daughter of Crystal
Megan – daughter of Crystal
Greg – son of Crystal
The pastor and his wife were out of town in two different states at the time of the attack. Their 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle Pomeroy, was at the church and was killed.
“We lost our 14-year-old daughter today and many friends,” her mother, Sherri Pomeroy, wrote to the Associated Press.
Michael Ward, 31, told The Dallas Morning News that his brother’s wife, Joann Ward, and two of her children were among the victims. Brooke Ward, 5, and Emily Garza, 7, died. Joann’s son Ryland Ward, 5, was shot multiple times. Michael was the one who carried Ryland out of the church and to help.
A U.S. Air Force veteran and his wife were also killed in the shooting, according to multiple outlets in Michigan, where they grew up. They were graduates of Harrison High School in Harrison, Michigan.
Charlene Uhl told People magazine her daughter Haley Krueger, 16, is among the victims of the shooting.
Haley had arrived at church early on Sunday to prepare breakfast, her mother told People magazine.
Evangelina Santos told Univision that her brother Richard Rodriguez, 51, and his wife, Theresa Rodriguez, were among the victims.
Rodriguez’s daughter, Regina, told the Associate Press that her father attended the church every Sunday.
Tara Elyse McNulty, a bartender at The Aumont Saloon in Seguin, Texas, was killed in the shooting at First Baptist Church, according to her employer.
At Tuesday's press conference, officials said the family of each victim who was killed will receive $6,500 from a crime victim’s fund. Victims who were injured will also receive some funding for their medical expenses.
Response from local schools
La Vernia Independent School District confirmed one student from their schools were killed and three more injured in Sunday's shooting. Floresville ISD said two of the victims were students in its district and three others were hurt.
Superintendents explained that they met with teachers before the start of the school day, grief counselors have been talking with students and parents, and there has been extra support for classrooms where students died.
“It’s devastating. It’s very difficult for the family members” Floresville Superintendent Sherri Bays said.
What leaders are saying
President Trump tweeted from Japan: "May God be w/ the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas. FBI & law enforcement are on the scene. I am monitoring the situation from Japan."
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.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2017
Trump was briefed several times Sunday about the tragic shooting and continues to receive regular updates, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. Trump also spoke with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, she said.
In a news conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, Trump said Monday that better mental health care — not gun control — is the key to understanding the mass shooting. "This isn't a guns situation,” he said.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tweeted that he spoke with to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott about the "horrific shooting," and that state and federal law enforcement were working closely. "Prayers for all harmed. Truly evil," Cruz said.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., tweeted that prayers are not enough. "After another unspeakable tragedy, Congress must act — or be complicit," he said.
A deadly anniversary
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton noted on CNN that Sunday's shooting took place eight years to the day after the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, which unfolded about 150 miles north of Sutherland Springs.
In that shooting, Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army doctor, killed 13 and wounded 32 in the deadliest domestic military attack in U.S. history.
Paxton said he wondered if there was a connection between the two shootings. "It’s just strange to me that it happened on the same day and in the same state," he said.
This report includes material originally published by USAToday.com.