Sunday, November 5, 2017

Latest information on Texas church shooting


Texas Governor Greg Abbott and others spoke at a news conference Sunday night following a shooting at a rural church earlier in the day. Abbott confirmed that 26 had been killed.

Here are the latest developments:

The victims ranged in age from 5 to 72 years old, said Freeman Martin, a regional director with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

At least eight of the people killed were members of one family, according to a relative and a community leader. A woman who was about five months pregnant and three of her children were killed. The pregnant woman's brother-in-law and his young child were also killed, according to the community leader. Three other members of the same family were wounded.

The suspected shooter has been identified as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley, according to two law enforcement sources who have been briefed on the investigation.

In April 2016, Kelley purchased the Ruger AR-556 rifle he used in the shooting from an Academy Sports & Outdoors store in San Antonio, Texas, a law enforcement official said. He indicated he didn't have a disqualifying criminal history when he filled out the background check paperwork at the store, the official said. Kelley listed a Colorado Springs, Colorado, address when he bought the gun.

Kelley was a member of the US Air Force and served at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico from 2010 until his discharge, according to Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek.

Kelley was court-martialed in 2012 for assault on his spouse and assault on their child, according to Stefanek. Kelley served a year in prison and received a bad conduct discharge in 2014, the spokeswoman said. His rank was also reduced, she said.

The gunman was dressed in all-black tactical gear, including a ballistic vest, Martin said. He fled the church and was later found dead in his vehicle, officials said.

Authorities said an armed resident confronted the gunman outside the church and shot him.

A witness told CNN affiliate KSAT that he and the armed resident pursued the gunman in a car chase for roughly 11 miles.

Speaking from Japan, President Donald Trump expressed condolences for the victims during a Monday news conference and said he believes the shooting was caused by a "mental health problem," not an issue with US gun laws.

"We don't know names of any of the victims at this time," said Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt in a press conference Sunday evening. As victims are identified, next of kin will be notified, he said.

However, the pastor of the church and his wife confirmed that their 14-year-old daughter,  Annabelle Pomeroy, was killed by the gunman. Pastor Frank Pomeroy, and his wife, Sherri, were both out of town in two different states when the attack occurred, Sherri Pomeroy wrote in a text message to the AP.

"We lost our 14-year-old daughter today and many friends," she wrote. "Neither of us has made it back into town yet to personally see the devastation. I am at the Charlotte airport trying to get home as soon as I can."



Around 11:20 a.m., Kelley arrived at a Valero gas station across from the First Baptist Church dressed in black tactical gear and a ballistic vest. He crossed the street and started firing a Ruger AR rifle at the church, officials said. He entered the building and kept shooting.

Kelly was confronted by an armed nearby resident who chased after him. Kelley was later found dead, roughly five miles away in Guadalupe County. It's unclear whether Kelley was killed by police or the armed resident, or from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.



During an event in Japan, President Trump commented on Sunday's shooting at a Texas church. Trump said he had spoken with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and offered his thanks to first responders.

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