Texas Church Shooting Leaves Pastor’s Daughter, 14, Dead — Dozens Killed Including Children
Sunday service in a small Texas Baptist church turned into a massacre when a man walked in and opened fire on the congregation as they were praying, according to Fox News as it provides live coverage of the aftermath of this Texas shooting. Live reports coming from the area include an interview with Jim Richards, who is the Executive Director or the Southern Baptist Churches of Texas. Richards called this a “demonic attack.”
It was about 11: 30 local time when the gunman opened fire on the congregation, at a church service that traditionally sees 50 or so parishioners on Sunday. The First Baptist Church Pastor, Frank Pomeroy, lost his 14-year-old daughter in this massacre. She was attending the Sunday service at her father’s church while her father was in Oklahoma.
Pomeroy, who is the pastor of this church in the rural Texas town of about 400 people, spoke with ABC News. He said Annabelle “was one beautiful very special child.” The 14-year-old girl, whose full name is Annabell Renee Pomeroy, was the pastor’s youngest daughter.
Pomeroy was not in the church when the gunman opened fire, he was in Oklahoma, but he was in his vehicle headed back home when he received the news of the shooting on Sunday morning. Pomeroy said that all of those killed were his friends, his “close friends.” Up to 27 people were shot and killed and another 20 wounded. According to Fox, this means almost everyone in the church service attended by 50 people were either killed or wounded.
Today's shooting at a Texas church is the deadliest mass killing at a house of worship in modern U.S. history. https://t.co/PrZl0ntG98
— ABC News (@ABC) November 5, 2017
According to CNN News, the cashier at a gas station across the street from the church witnessed the sounds of the shots coming from the church. She told CNN that she heard about 20 shots being fired in quick succession while a church service was underway around 11:30 a.m. local time.
The First Baptist Church is in Sutherland Springs, Texas, which sits just about 30 miles east of San Antonio, Texas. It is a town of about 400 people. Residents of the town spoke with Fox News. Most identify with living in Sutherland Springs as a place where they leave their doors open and keys in their cars. This is not a town with criminal activity to speak of the residents conveyed.
BREAKING: Sutherland Springs pastor confirms death of 14-year-old daughter https://t.co/fNQzeZGqrf
— Raw Story (@RawStory) November 5, 2017
Now the horrific task of identifying and notifying the family and friends of the victims is underway. The family members wanting to know the fate of their loved ones have gathered down the street at another church waiting for word.
Fox News is reporting that while they have not been able to confirm the reports, ABC News has described the shooter as a white man in his 20s. They also said that there are reports of this shooter posting pictures of himself on Facebook holding an AR-15 rifle. Again, these reports are unconfirmed by Fox, as they wait for the press conference this evening from authorities in Texas.
Richards, who called this a “demonic attack” said this evil person cannot detour people from going to church. Henry Cuellar, who is a Congressman from Texas, spoke with Fox News said that he spoke with law enforcement and they were able to track the shooter who came from another Texas county about 20 miles away and he learned that “he had been posting things on Facebook,” according to what the Congressman said on Fox.
According to ABC News, “the fatality count makes it one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history.”
[Featured Image by KSAT/AP Images]
