SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at a church in Texas (all times local):
8:35 a.m.
Officials in Texas have confirmed the identity of the man suspected of killing 26 people at a South Texas church.
The Texas Department of Public Safety on Monday morning said 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley is the suspect. DPS said that Kelley lived in New Braunfels, which is about 35 miles north of the Sutherland Springs church where the shooting occurred.
A short time after the shooting Sunday, the suspect was found dead in his vehicle at the county line.
On Sunday, two officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity had identified the gunman as Kelley.
DPS says more information will be released later Monday.
8:10 a.m.
School districts surrounding a South Texas town where a gunman killed 26 people at a church have added counselors to help comfort children, their families and staff.
Sutherland Springs is a town of about 400 that does not have its own school. Nearby districts offered messages of caring and concern Monday, a day after the gunfire. Officials say the victims ranged in age from 5 to 72 years old.
Superintendent Sherri Bays, of the Floresville Independent School District, wrote: “Our hearts are breaking for the families of the deceased and injured.”
District spokeswoman Kim Cathey says some Sutherland Springs children attend Floresville ISD schools. Cathey had no immediate information on whether any victims were from the district.
Similar messages of prayers and support were offered by the Stockdale ISD and the La Vernia ISD.
 
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7:45 a.m.
A sheriff says the former in-laws of a man suspected of killing 26 people at a Texas church attended services there “from time to time.”
Wilson County Sheriff Joe D. Tackitt Jr. told CNN Monday morning that the former in-laws weren’t in attendance Sunday when the shooting occurred. He says it wasn’t clear why the gunman picked that day for the shooting.
The mass shooting occurred Sunday morning at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio. About 20 others were wounded in the attack.
Two officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity identified the gunman as Devin Kelley. An Air Force spokeswoman said records confirm Kelley received a bad conduct discharge after being court-martialed in 2012 for assaulting his spouse and child.
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7:05 a.m.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is suggesting there may have been a connection between the gunman who shot and killed 26 people in a South Texas community and the Baptist church where the slayings happened.
Abbott tells ABC’s “Good Morning America” he expects people will learn about any such link “in a few days.” He said he didn’t want to go further, saying “law enforcement is looking very aggressively into this.”
“I don’t think this was just a random act of violence,” Abbott told anchor George Stephanopoulos. But when pressed to elaborate on his connection theory, the governor replied that “it’s very important that law enforcement have the ability … to tie the loose ends of this investigation up.”
He called the man, identified by a U.S. official and one in law enforcement as Devin Kelley, “a very deranged individual.”
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President Donald Trump says the mass shooting at a Texas church is the result of a “mental health problem at the highest level.”
Speaking at an event with the Japanese prime minister in Tokyo on Monday, Trump described the gunman as a “very deranged individual.”
Authorities say 26 people were killed and about 20 others were wounded Sunday after a man opened fire inside the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.
Officials identified the shooter to The Associated Press as Devin Kelley. Authorities have not yet determined a motive for the shooting, and have not broached the topic of the gunman’s mental health.
11:50 p.m.
A congregant who wasn’t at a Texas church when a gunman opened fire says his pregnant cousin and her in-laws were among those killed.
Nick Uhlig tells The Associated Press that his cousin Crystal Holcombe and her in-laws Karla and Bryan Holcombe died in Sunday’s attack at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. Crystal Holcombe was eight months pregnant.
Uhlig says Bryan Holcombe did prison ministry, adding that he would go to the prison with a ukulele and sing for the inmates.
Uhlig earlier said that he was not at church on Sunday because he was out late on Saturday.
Authorities say 26 people were killed and about 20 others wounded in the mass shooting.
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11:30 p.m.
A sheriff says there was likely “no way” for parishioners to escape once shooting started at the Texas church.
Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt Jr. said Sunday night that the shooter fired several shots outside before entering the Sutherland Springs church and walking toward the front of the congregation. Tackitt says the gunman then turned around and opened fire on his way back out the front door.
Tackitt says “I don’t think they could have escaped. You’ve got your pews on either side.”
The sheriff did not name the shooter, but officials identified the gunman to The Associated Press as Devin Kelley.
Tackitt says investigators have not yet determined a motive for the attack.
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10:50 p.m.
A man who says he pursued the gunman in a Texas church shooting says he was acting on instinct to try to prevent the suspect from escaping.
Johnnie Langendorff says in an interview with KSAT television that he was driving past the church Sunday as the shooting happened and he saw the gunman exchanging fire with a member of the community.
He says the member of the community asked for help and got into Langendorff’s truck. They took off at high speed in pursuit of the gunman on a nearby highway as police were going in the opposite direction toward the church.
Langendorff says the gunman eventually lost control of his vehicle and crashed. He says the member of the community walked up to the vehicle with his gun drawn and the suspect did not move. The community member stood guard over the gunman until police arrived 5 to 7 minutes later.
Langendorff says: “I was strictly just acting on what’s the right thing to do.”
The shooting left 26 people dead and about 20 wounded.
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9:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump has ordered that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff to honor those killed in the mass shooting at a Texas church.
Trump, who is in the midst of a lengthy tour of Asia, issued a proclamation late Sunday ordering that American flags flown at the White House, all public buildings and grounds, and military posts be flown at half-staff through sunset on Thursday.
Authorities say 26 people were killed and about 20 others were wounded Sunday after a man opened fire inside First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.
Officials identified the gunman to The Associated Press as Devin Kelley.
7:30 p.m.
A U.S. military official says the suspect identified in the mass shooting at a Texas church was a former Air Force member who was stationed in New Mexico at one time.
Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek says records confirm that Devin P. Kelley served in Logistics Readiness at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico from 2010 until his discharge. The date of his discharge and the circumstances under which he left the service were not immediately available.
The Pentagon also confirmed that Kelley was an airman “at one point,” but didn’t provide additional details.
Authorities say 26 people were killed and about 20 others wounded in the attack in Sutherland Springs.
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7:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump has promised his administration’s full support to the investigation of a Texas church shooting that left 26 dead and about 20 wounded.
Speaking to U.S. and Japanese business leaders in Tokyo Monday morning during his Asian trip, Trump highlighted that this “act of evil” at a place of sacred worship.
Trump says: “Our hearts are broken but in dark times — and these are dark times — such as these, Americans do what they do best.” He says Americans will pull together to help those suffering.
Trump says he will continue monitoring the investigation during his 11-day tour.
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7:05 p.m.
More than 100 people gathered after dark on a grassy street corner within sight of the church where the shooting occurred for a prayer vigil.
Attendees, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, lit candles while some wept and others hugged Sunday night. They could see the church sign lit up and emergency lights flashing.
The vigil across the street from a gas station convenience store where law enforcement officials say the shooter stopped before the attack.
Mike Gonzales, who does not attend the church but lives near says: “The people of this church are wonderful people.” Gonzales added, “We’re coming together to pray for them and show the world that now, in the midst of darkness, there is light.”
Authorities say 26 people were killed and about 20 wounded in the attack.
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7 p.m.
The Pentagon has confirmed the suspect identified in the mass shooting at a Texas church previously served in the Air Force.
In a brief statement, the Pentagon says Devin Kelley was an airman “at one point,” but additional details about his time in the Air Force were not immediately available.
Authorities say 26 people were killed and about 20 others injured in the attack at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.
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6:45 p.m.
Two sheriff’s vans were parked outside and police officers stood at the gate of a cattle fence surrounding the address listed for the Texas church shooting suspect, preventing a group of waiting journalists from entering.
Two officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity have identified him as Devin Kelley.
Officials from the Comal County Sherriff’s Office and the Texas Rangers declined to comment Sunday evening, or to say if they had raided his home. A few minutes later, the gate opened and two Texas Rangers trucks pulled out.
The home is in a wooded area on the rural, western outskirts of New Braunfels, north of San Antonio. It is off a two-lane highway.
Authorities say 26 people were killed and about 20 wounded in the shooting.
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6:40 p.m.
President Donald Trump says the deadly church shooting in Texas is an “act of evil.”
Trump is in Tokyo on the first leg of a visit to Asia. He says he has spoken with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the state has the administration’s “full support.”
Trump says he will continue to follow developments closely while he is traveling through Asia.
The president says the “act of evil” occurred as the victims and families were in their place of “sacred worship.”
Texas authorities say 26 people were killed and about 20 others were wounded Sunday after a man open fire inside First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs southeast of San Antonio.
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6:15 p.m.
Texas authorities are offering more details about the timeline of a deadly church shooting.
Department of Public Safety regional director Freeman Martin says the alleged shooter was dressed in black, wearing tactical gear and a ballistic vest when he arrived at a neighboring gas station around 11:20 a.m.
He crossed the street to the church, left his vehicle and started firing a Ruger AR assault-type rifle at the church. Then he entered the church and fired.
As he left the church, the shooter met an unidentified area resident with his own rifle who pursued him. The suspect was found dead in his vehicle near the border between Wilson and Guadalupe counties.
Martin says it’s unclear if he died of a self-inflected wound or was shot by the resident.
Authorities haven’t announced the name of the suspect, only describing him as a white male in his 20s.
Two officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity identified the attacker as Devin Kelley.
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6 p.m.
A top Texas public safety officer says that 23 of the people found dead in a shooting at a Baptist church were found inside the building, two others were outside and one person was transported but died later.
Freeman Martin, regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, says the ages of those killed ranged from 5 to 72.
He told a news conference that about 20 other people were injured in the attack.
The first report of the shooting was at about 11:20 a.m., or about 20 minutes after the church website says the Sunday worship was scheduled to start.
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5:40 p.m.
Gov. Greg Abbott says 26 people were killed in the attack on a Texas church and that it was the deadliest mass shooting in the state’s history.
Abbott’s remarks came during a news conference Sunday, hours after the attack on the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, a community 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.
The victims ranged in age from 5 to 72 years old.
Two officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity identified the attacker as Devin Kelley.
5:20 p.m.
Two officials have identified the suspect in a mass shooting at a Texas church as Devin Kelley.
The officials — one a U.S. official and the other in law enforcement — spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation, which they were briefed on.
The U.S. official says Kelley lived in a suburb of San Antonio and that he doesn’t appear to be linked to organized terrorist groups. The official says investigators are looking at social media posts Kelley may have made in the days before Sunday’s attack, including one that appeared to show an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon.
Authorities say Kelley walked into the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs and opened fire, killing more than 20 people and wounding at least 10 others.
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5 p.m.
A congregant who wasn’t at a Texas church the day of a deadly shooting says his cousins attended and that family members have been told at least one was killed.
Thirty-four-year-old Nick Uhlig says he didn’t go to the Sutherland Springs church Sunday because he was out late Saturday. He says the cousin who was killed had three children and was pregnant with a fourth. He didn’t know specifics about how the other was doing.
Uhlig says the family had just met days earlier for his cousins’ grandfather’s funeral.
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4:20 p.m.
The wife of the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs says the couple’s 14-year-old daughter was among those killed in a mass shooting at the church.
Sherri Pomeroy, wife of Pastor Frank Pomeroy, said in a text message that she lost her daughter “and many friends” in the Sunday shooting. The text came in response to an interview request sent by The Associated Press to a phone number linked in online records to Frank Pomeroy.
Sherri Pomeroy says both she and her husband were out of town and trying to get back to Sutherland Springs, outside of San Antonio.
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3:30 p.m.
A law enforcement official says more than 20 people have been killed in a shooting at a church in a small town outside San Antonio.
The official, who was briefed on the investigation, says the gunman fled the church in a vehicle after the shooting and was also killed, either by a self-inflicted wound or during a confrontation with police. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The official says between 10 to 15 people were also injured but stressed the investigation was early and the figures could change. Authorities are still trying to determine a motive.
Federal law enforcement swarmed the scene to offer assistance, including ATF investigators and members of the FBI’s evidence collection team.
Associated Press writer Sadie Gurman in Washington contributed to this report.
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2:45 p.m.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling a reported shooting at a church in a small town outside San Antonio an “evil act.”
A sheriff says a man entered First Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and started shooting, leaving multiple people dead and injured.
Abbott tweeted Sunday: “Our prayers are with all who were harmed by this evil act.” He thanked law enforcement for their response.
The Republican governor has also promised “more details” from the state’s Department of Public Safety soon.
Sutherland Springs is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement that his office “stands ready to assist local law enforcement as needed.”
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2:35 p.m.
President Donald Trump has tweeted from Japan that he is monitoring the situation in Texas following a mass shooting at a church.
Trump tweeted: “May God be w/ the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas.” He added that the FBI is on the scene.
Trump is in Japan as part of a 12-day, five-country Asian trip.
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2:25 p.m.
A spokeswoman says the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is sending special agents from field offices in Houston and San Antonio to the site of a church shooting in South Texas.
ATF spokeswoman Mary Markos did not immediately have further details.
A sheriff says that a man walked into the church and started firing. Authorities say the attacker is dead.
The number of fatalities or injuries hasn’t been confirmed by authorities, but a Wilson County commissioner, Albert Gamez, has told cable news outlets that he was told it was more than 20 killed and 20 wounded, though those figures aren’t confirmed.
One hospital about 10 miles from the shooting says there “multiple” victims with gunshot wounds are being treated.
Connally Memorial Medical Center spokeswoman Megan Posey declined to say how many patients were being treated at the hospital, but said the number was less than a dozen. The hospital is in Floresville, Texas.
2:15 p.m.
A County Commissioner in Texas says he’s been told that more than 20 people were killed and more than 20 were wounded in an attack at a church, though he says those figures haven’t been confirmed.
Albert Gamez, a Wilson County commissioner, made the comments to cable news outlets after the attack Sunday at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, a small community 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.
A sheriff says that a man walked into the church and started firing. Authorities say the attacker is dead.
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1:20 p.m.
A sheriff says a man walked into a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and started shooting, leaving multiple people dead.
The Wilson County News reports that Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt said the shooter has been taken down. It wasn’t immediately known how many people were killed and wounded or who carried out the attack.
First responders converged on the church in the small town southeast of San Antonio and helicopters are taking victims to hospitals.
Sutherland Springs is a community of about 400 people 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio.
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1 p.m.
Local news outlets report that several people have been shot at a Baptist Church in South Texas.
Television stations KSAT and KENS report that there are multiple victims and that there is a large police presence at the church in Sutherland Springs, which is 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio.
KSAT reports that two Airlife helicopters are also at the scene.
A sheriff’s department dispatcher says everyone is at the scene and unavailable to comment.
KSAT has video of several fire and police vehicles at the church and a photo of a helicopter that the station says was arriving to take victims to hospitals.
