SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (AP) – 6:45 p.m.
Two sheriff’s vans were parked outside and police officers stood at the gate of a cattle fence surrounding the address listed for the Texas church shooting suspect, preventing a group of waiting journalists from entering.
Two officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity have identified him as Devin Kelley.
Officials from the Comal County Sherriff’s Office and the Texas Rangers declined to comment Sunday evening, or to say if they had raided his home. A few minutes later, the gate opened and two Texas Rangers trucks pulled out.
The home is in a wooded area on the rural, western outskirts of New Braunfels, north of San Antonio. It is off a two-lane highway.
Our prayers are with all who were harmed by this evil act. Our thanks to law enforcement for their response. More details from DPS soon. https://t.co/KMCRmOPkiM— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 5, 2017
Authorities say 26 people were killed and about 20 wounded in the shooting.
6:16 p.m. – Two officials tell The Associated Press that the Texas church shooter was Devin Kelley.
The officials – one a U.S. official and the other in law enforcement – spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation, which they were briefed on.
The U.S. official says Kelly lived in a suburb of San Antonio and that he doesn’t appear to be linked to organized terrorist groups. The official says investigators are looking at social media posts Kelley may have made in the days before Sunday’s attack, including one that appeared to show an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon.
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
Authorities say Kelley walked into the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs and opened fire, killing more than 20 people and wounding at least 10 others.
4:20 p.m.
Official tells The Associated Press more than 20 people were killed in the Texas church attack.
The wife of the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs says the couple’s 14-year-old daughter was among those killed in a mass shooting at the church.
Sherri Pomeroy, wife of Pastor Frank Pomeroy, said in a text message that she lost her daughter “and many friends” in the Sunday shooting. The text came in response to an interview request sent by The Associated Press to a phone number linked in online records to Frank Pomeroy.
Sherri Pomeroy says both she and her husband were out of town and trying to get back to Sutherland Springs, outside of San Antonio.
A man opened fire inside of a church in a small South Texas community on Sunday, killing multiple people and wounding others before being “taken down,” authorities said.
Authorities said a man walked into the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs and began shooting, killing multiple people and wounding others. Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt told the Wilson County News that the shooter had been “taken down,” but it’s not known how the shooter died.
Authorities haven’t said how many were killed or wounded, but a Wilson County commissioner, Albert Gamez, told cable news outlets that emergency officials told him more than 20 people were slain and more than 20 others were wounded, though those figures hadn’t been confirmed.
Video on KSAT television showed first responders taking a stretch from the church to a waiting AirLife helicopter. Some victims were taken by medical helicopter to the Brooke Army Medical Center, KSAT said.
Megan Posey, a spokeswoman for Connally Memorial Medical Center, which is in Floresville and about 10 miles from the church, said “multiple” victims were being treated for gunshot wounds. She declined to give a specific number but said it was less than a dozen.
A woman who lives about 10 minutes away from Sutherland Springs in Floresville and was monitoring the chaos on a police scanner and in Facebook community groups, said that everyone knows everyone in the sparsely populated county.
“This is horrific for our tiny little tight-knit town,” said Alena Berlanga. “Everybody’s going to be affected and everybody knows someone who’s affected,” she said.
President Donald Trump tweeted from Japan, where is his on an Asian trip, that he was monitoring the situation following the shooting. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the shooting an “evil act,” and promised “more details” from the state’s Department of Public Safety soon.
Sutherland Springs is 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio.
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (AP) – The Latest on a shooting at a church in Texas (all times local):
2:15 p.m.
A County Commissioner in Texas says he’s been told that more than 20 people were killed and more than 20 were wounded in an attack at a church, though he says those figures haven’t been confirmed.
Albert Gamez, a Wilson County commissioner, made the comments to cable news outlets after the attack Sunday at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, a small community 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.
A sheriff says that a man walked into the church and started firing. Authorities say the attacker was later killed.
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1:20 p.m.
A sheriff says a man walked into a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and started shooting, leaving multiple people dead.
The Wilson County News reports that Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt said the shooter has been taken down. It wasn’t immediately known how many people were killed and wounded or who carried out the attack.
First responders converged on the church in the small town southeast of San Antonio and helicopters are taking victims to hospitals.
Sutherland Springs is a community of about 400 people 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio.
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1 p.m.
Local news outlets report that several people have been shot at a Baptist Church in South Texas.
Television stations KSAT and KENS report that there are multiple victims and that there is a large police presence at the church in Sutherland Springs, which is 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio.
KSAT reports that two Airlife helicopters are also at the scene.
A sheriff’s department dispatcher says everyone is at the scene and unavailable to comment.
KSAT has video of several fire and police vehicles at the church and a photo of a helicopter that the station says was arriving to take victims to hospitals.