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Over 20 Reported Killed in Texas Church Shooting

A lone gunman is reported to have shot and killed over 20 people in a church near San Antonio in Texas, USA. Preliminary reports say 26 people have died and at least 20 have been injured. The Wilson County Sheriff said the man, dressed in black, started firing as he walked up to and entered […]

By SAPeople
06-11-17 13:30
in Eish!

A lone gunman is reported to have shot and killed over 20 people in a church near San Antonio in Texas, USA. Preliminary reports say 26 people have died and at least 20 have been injured.

The Wilson County Sheriff said the man, dressed in black, started firing as he walked up to and entered a First Baptist Church.

The County Commissioner said the man has died. It is unclear whether he was shot by someone else or if he shot himself.

President Donald Trump, who is currently on a trip to Asia, tweeted: “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.”

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Rick Hurd tweeted: “Just a regular part of livin’ in American now. Rest of world probably thinks we’re nuts.”

There have been renewed calls on social media to discuss gun laws.

UPDATE Mon 6 November 2017: During a press conference in Japan, Trump denied gun ownership is the problem and said: “We have a lot of mental health problems in our country, as do other countries, but this isn’t a guns situation. Fortunately somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite direction, otherwise it wouldn’t have been as bad as it was, it would have been much worse.”

The shooter, who was dressed in black, reportedly dropped his rifle as he left the church when confronted by a local citizen bearing his own rifle.

Witness Johnnie Langendorff told local reporters he had seen “two men exchanging gunfire” and that after the shooter fled in his vehicle, he and the local citizen pursued him, with police behind them.

The gunman lost control of his vehicle and was found dead, having been shot. It’s unclear whether it was a self-inflicted wound or if he was shot by the local resident.

According to reports the pastor was out of town on Sunday morning… but his 14-year-old daughter was tragically killed in the church.

NBC says this is the largest mass killing in a place of worship in US history.

Authorities have confirmed the identify of the “young, white male” as Devin Patrick Kelley, a 26-year-old who was allegedly discharged from the US Air Force in 2014, after receiving a court martial for assaulting his wife and child.

He is not yet named as a terrorist because his motive is not yet clear, and a terrorist is – by definition – someone who commits act of violence and intimidation for political motives.

 

 

https://twitter.com/joekeene/status/927275851237986304