Sutherland Springs: Men chased Texas church shooting suspect

Two men are being hailed as heroes for pursuing the gunman suspected of killing at least 26 people at a Texas church.

Johnnie Langendorff told local media he had chased the gunman after seeing “two men exchanging gunfire”.

“The shooter… fled in his vehicle, the other gentleman came and said we need to pursue him,” he said.

The attack happened at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, a small town in Wilson County.

At least 26 people, aged from five to 72, were killed and 20 others were wounded when the gunman opened fire during Sunday service.

Speaking to local TV station Ksat.com, Mr Langendorff said: “I pulled up to the intersection where the shooting happened. I saw two men exchanging gunfire, the other being [a] citizen of the community.

“He came to my vehicle in distress with his weapon. He explained very quickly what happened. He got into the truck and I knew that it was time to go.”

He said the pair had driven at speeds of up to 95mph (153km/h) until the gunman lost control of his car and crashed. “We led police to him,” he said. “Everybody else was headed to the church.”

The suspected gunman was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his vehicle, police said.

The car contained several weapons.

Officials confirmed the identity of the gunman on Monday as Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, of New Braunfels, TX.

The suspected attacker’s in-law relatives occasionally worshipped at the church, Sheriff Tackitt said, but were not there at the time.

Kelley is reported to have been discharged from the US air force in 2014 following a court martial for assaulting his wife and child.

The motive for the killings is not yet clear.

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‘Small community’

Rajini Vaidyanathan, BBC News, Sutherland Springs, Texas

This is a small community of around 400 people – there’s just one post office here, and only two churches.

The attack at the First Baptist has touched virtually every household here.

Even the local Sheriff, Joe Tackitt, knew people caught up in the attack. For him, seeing children inside the church in the aftermath was what hurt the most.

He estimates between 12 to 14 children were either dead or injured.

The suspect’s in-laws were also occasional worshippers at this church, and it’s now believed he may himself have had a connection to this place, which could help investigators to determine his motive.

Texas Department of Public Safety regional director Freeman Martin said the attacker, dressed all in black and wearing a bulletproof vest, opened fire with a Ruger assault rifle outside the church at around 11:30 local time (17:30 GMT) and then went inside.

Mr Martin added: “We have multiple crime scenes. We have the church, outside the church. We have where the suspect’s vehicle was located.”

Governor Greg Abbott, who attended a candlelit vigil for the victims, said it was the worst mass shooting in the history of Texas.

“This will be a long, suffering mourning for those in pain,” he said at a news conference on Sunday.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, on a tour of Asia, said guns were not to blame for the shooting.

“We have a lot of mental health problems in our country, but this isn’t a guns situation,” he said.

The First Baptist Church’s pastor, Frank Pomeroy, told ABC News that his 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle, was among those killed.

Mr Pomeroy, who was in Oklahoma at the time of the attack, described her as “one very beautiful, special child” in a phone call to the television outlet.

At least 10 victims, including four children, were being treated at the University Health System in nearby San Antonio, the hospital said in a tweet.

Sheriff Joe Tackitt said authorities could not confirm the names of any victims yet as they continued to work through the crime scene.

BBC