Terror In Texas: Lone Gunman Kills 26 and Injures 24 in Largest Mass Shooting in Texas History

In the latest domestic terror attack to take place on US soil, a black-clad gunman opened fire Sunday at The First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a rural area 32 miles outside San Antonio. The gunman killed 26 people and wounded an additional  24, including children - taking out nearly 4% of the population in a small town that only numbered 683 inhabitants.

The killer has since been identified as Devin Kelley, 26, of nearby Comal County, Texas. In the wake of the shooting, Kelley was pursued in a high speed car chase by a neighboring witness Johnnie Langendorf , who had his own weapon and exchanged fire with Kelley,  with Kelley losing control of his car and careening into a ditch in a neighboring Texas county. The killer was found fatally shot in his vehicle, said a local law enforcement official. It is unclear whether he shot himself, of died from wounds in the gunfire exchange with Langendorf.

Kelley served in the U.S. Air Force but was court-martialed for bad conduct in 2012.

During a late Sunday news conference in the near vicinity of the church, Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt said the attacker appeared to have no ties to the town or knew anyone in the church, but the investigation is still ongoing to uncover further details. 

Describing the layout of the church, the sheriff said he doesn’t think people could have escaped the shooter.

“You’ve got your pews on either side when you’re walking down the aisle and he just walked down the center aisle, turned around and was, from my understanding, shooting on his way back out," he said. "There was no way anyone could have escaped.”

Tackitt said he knew quite a few of the people who were in the church, later describing the community as one where “pretty much everyone knows everyone.”

Paul Buford, pastor of nearby River Oaks Church, said first responders in his congregation were called to the scene of the rampage while his church service was in progress.

*UPDATE*  After the initial publishing of this post, City police officials in Sutherland Springs, Texas revealed Monday afternoon that the shooter's motives appear to have been domestically charged.

Among the deceased at First Baptist is the 14 year old daughter of the church's pastor, Annabelle Pameroy. Pastor Frank Pameroy was out of town at the time the massacre took place, and tells ABC News that his daughter was "one very beautiful, one special child". The church shooting has been noted by Texas Governor Greg Abbott as the worst in mass shooting in the state's history.

Our condolences to all who have been affected by this unspeakable tragedy.

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