Texas Church Massacre: 26 Dead in Yet Another Mass Shooting in the US

At least 26 people died in yet another mass shooting in the United States — this time in a small-town church in Texas on Sunday, November 5.

The lone white gunman was identified as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley, law enforcement officials told the New York Times.

Wearing a ballistic vest and carrying an assault rifle, Kelley walked into the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs town just before noon and opened fire on the congregation, reports the IANS.

Kelley died in the aftermath of the shooting, though the circumstances of his death were not immediately clear. The motive of the attack remains unclear as well.

More than two dozen people were left injured, besides the 26 fatalities.

The victims ranged in age from five to 72, included several children, a pregnant woman and the pastor’s 14-year-old daughter.

The shooting comes a month after the deadliest mass shooting in the US – where the regularity of mass shootings has led to widespread demand for stricter gun control laws.

On October 1, Stephen Paddock opened fire on an outdoor country music concert at Las Vegas in Nevada, killing 59 people and injuring hundreds.

Sunday’s shooting was the worst mass shooting in the history of Texas as well as the deadliest at a place of worship in the US.

The Church massacre also unfolded on the eighth anniversary of the 2009 attack on Fort Hood in Texas, when an Army psychiatrist, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, killed 13 people in one of the worst mass shootings at an American military base, writes the IANS.

Kelley, who lived in New Braunfels, Texas, had served in the Air Force at a base in New Mexico, but was court-martialled in 2012 on charges of assaulting his wife and child, reports IANS. He was sentenced to 12 months confinement and received a "bad conduct" discharge in 2014, according to Ann Stefanek, the chief of Air Force media operations.

Freeman Martin of the Texas Department of Public Safety gave a brief timeline of events, as reported by the Guardian.

At around 11.20am, the suspect was seen at a gas station over the road from the church. He crossed the road and began shooting as he approached the church, continuing the firing as he entered the place of worship.

Police said, as reported by the IANS, that as Kelley was leaving the church after the carnage, an armed resident exchanged gunfire with him, hitting Kelley, who fled in his vehicle.

He was pursued by police and just as he reached Guadalupe County his vehicle veered off the road.

He was found in the car dead, but it is not known whether by his own hand or having been shot by the local resident.

The church regularly posts its weekly services to its Youtube page, and investigators are now searching for video that could shed more light on what happened, said the IANS.

US President Donald Trump, in his opening response to the massacre, tweeted: “May God be with the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas. The FBI and law enforcement are on the scene. I am monitoring the situation from Japan.”

Trump also called it a “horrific shooting”. He ordered flags flown at half-staff at the White House and all federal buildings till Thursday, November 9.