A man opened fire in a church in small south Texas community on Sunday. In
this attack around 26 people were killed and almost 20 were injured making it
the deadliest attack in the history of the state.
Officials did’nt identify the attacker during a news conference Sunday night, but
two other officials — one a US official and one in law enforcement — who were
briefed on the investigation identified him as Devin Kelley. They spoke to the AP
on the condition of anonymity because they were’nt authorized to discuss the
investigation
The US official said Kelley lived in a San Antonio suburb and does’nt appear to
be linked to organized terrorist groups. The official said investigators are looking
at social media posts Kelley may have made in the days before Sundays attack,
including one that appeared to show an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon.
Authorities said civilian with a gun confronted the attacker and chased him
away. The gunman was later found dead in his vehicle.
The dead ranged in age from 5 to 72 years old. Twenty-three were found dead
in the church, two were found outside and one died after being taken to a
hospital. Among those killed was the 14-year- old daughter of the churches
pastor, Frank Pomeroy, and his wife, Sherri. Sherri Pomeroy wrote in a text
message to the AP that she and her husband were out of town in two different
states when the attack occurred.
President Donald Trump tweeted from Japan, where is his on an Asian trip, that
he was monitoring the situation. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the shooting an evil act, and promised more details from the states Department of Public Safety soon.
