A man opened fire inside a church in a small South Texas community on Sunday, killing at least 26 people and wounding others before being “taken down,” authorities said.
Officials say that the 26 people killed in a shooting at a small South Texas church range in age from 18 months to 77 years old.
After the shooting, the gunman was fired on by a local resident with a rifle. The suspect dropped his assault weapon, and fled in his vehicle. Soon afterward, the suspect crashed his vehicle near the border of neighboring Guadalupe County and was found dead inside with a cache of weapons.
It was not immediately clear if the suspect killed himself or was hit when the resident fired at him outside the church, authorities said.
- A gunman massacred at least 26 worshipers and wounded 20 others at a church in Texas on Sunday
- The gunman was fired on by a local resident after which he fled in a car that later crashed and killed him
- The gunman reportedly died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
- US President Donald Trump said he is monitoring the situation from Japan
- The shooter has reportedly been identified as a 26-year-old Devin Kelley from San Antonio.
Gunman Had Briefly Escaped from a Mental Health Facility in 2012
A 2012 police report says that the Texas church gunman had made death threats against his military superiors and had been caught trying to sneak firearms onto an Air Force base in New Mexico where he had been stationed.
The information was contained in a police incident report after Devin Kelley briefly escaped in June, 2012 from a mental health facility in New Mexico where he had been committed. KPRC television in Houston first reported about the escape.
Police in El Paso, Texas, where Kelley was caught after the escape, said in the report that an official of the mental health facility told them that Kelley "was a danger to himself and others."
The report says that Kelley had already been caught sneaking firearms onto Holloman Air Force base. It also says that he "was attempting to carry out death threats that (Kelley) had made on his military chain of command."
Suspected Shooter Might Be Involved in Domestic Violence, Officials Investigating
Authorities in Texas say law enforcement went to the home of the suspected church gunman three years ago to investigate a domestic violence complaint involving him and his then-girlfriend.
Paul Anthony, a spokesman for the Comal County district attorney's office, told The Associated Press that sheriff's deputies were called just after 10 p.m. on Feb. 1, 2014, to the New Braunfels home of Devin Patrick Kelley and his family.
Citing a sheriff's office report, Anthony says a friend of Kelley's girlfriend told authorities she received a text message from the girlfriend that indicated "her boyfriend was abusing her." When sheriff's deputies arrived at the home, they were told by people in the house that there was no problem.
No arrests were made. Kelley married Danielle Shields two months later.
Kelley was discharged from the Air Force the same year after being punished for allegedly assaulting his spouse and child.
Shooter Killed Himself: Wilson Country Sheriff
Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt has told CBS News that the shooter is believed to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
"There was some gunfire exchanged, I believe, on the roadway also, and then (the shooter's vehicle) wrecked out," said Tackitt. "At this time we believe that he had a self-inflicted gunshot wound, after he wrecked out."
Motorist Emerged as a Hero After Pursuing Shooter, Preventing Casualties
A motorist, who along with another man, chased down the heavily armed gunman in a high speed car chase is being hailed as hero.
Johnie Langendoff was on his way to his girlfriend’s house, when the local man who was armed with a rifle as well sought his help to pursue the attacker and prevent more casualties.
US President Donald Trump has said that it was fortunate that another person on the scene had a firearm, otherwise “it would have been much worse.”
The gentleman with the rifle came to my truck as the shooter took off, and he briefed me quickly on what had just happened, and said that we had to get him and so that’s what I did.Johnie Langendoff
"He just hurt so many people, and he just affected so many people's lives ... Why wouldn't you want to take him down?" he said about the attacker.
Langendoff stayed on the phone with the dispatch during the chase, until near an intersection the attacker Kelley appeared to lose control of his SUV.
It’s like he just gave up. He just kind of went off in the ditch, hit a hay bale from what I could see, and then he just never moved after that,Langendoff
According to a news release from Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt, Kelley was found dead inside the vehicle.