The Christian faith community in the United States is in mourning this morning after a gunman, who was known to be a committed atheist, opened fire in a small Baptist church yesterday morning, killing 26 people – including 14 children – and injuring more than 20.
A statement posted by Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas sums up the feelings of the faithful after news of the shooting broke yesterday:
“We need prayers! The families affected in the shooting this morning at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs need prayers. The evil perpetrated on these who were gathered to worship God on the Lord’s Day — especially children and the elderly — makes no sense and will never be fully understood. Disbelief and shock are the overwhelming feelings; there are no adequate words. There can be no explanation or motive for such a scene of horror at a small country church for families gathered to praise Jesus Christ.”
The shooting occurred at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in Texas when 26 year-old Devin Patrick Kelley, a depressed outcast and committed atheist stormed into the church at around 11:20 a.m. and opened fire with a Ruger AR-556 assault rifle. Witnesses say he walked down the aisle while shooting everyone in sight, including Bryan Holcombe, the minister who was filling in for Frank Pomeroy, the church’s pastor, who was out of town at the time.
An eyewitness said that Holcombe was walking up to the pulpit when he was shot in the back. He was killed along with his wife of 26 years and their eight-months-pregnant daughter-in-law, Crystal.
Pomeroy’s 14 year-old daughter, Annabelle, was also one of the victims.
CNN is reporting that according to Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt, the massacre killed about four percent of the small town’s population, including eight members of the same family, and no one at the church was left unscathed.
Although police are still investigating the motive for the shooting, Kelley apparently had no love for believers.
One classmate wrote on Facebook that the mass murderer used to rant on the social network about his atheist beliefs.
“He was always talking about how people who believe in God were stupid and trying to preach his atheism,” she said.
Kelley was formerly in the Air Force but was dishonorably discharged after assaulting his wife and child. Acquaintances described him as being “crazy” and “weird”.
Two locals, one of whom was armed, are being hailed as heroes after chasing down Kelley who attempted to flee and was found dead in his car about 11 miles away. It’s not yet known if he died of self-inflicted wounds or if he died of a bullet wound from his pursuers.
The residents of this tiny Texas town of about 400 people are turning to God for comfort and strength to endure what has become the worst church shooting in U.S. history. Even while families were gathered outside the church, waiting for word about loved ones whose bodies were still inside, they held hands and prayed to God to “be with us as we learn to deal with this in days to come.”
The U.S. Bishops are calling upon the faithful to keep this community, and the nation, in their prayers.
“This incomprehensibly tragic event joins an ever-growing list of mass shootings, some of which were also at Churches while people were worshipping and at prayer,” said Cardinal Daniel N DiNardo, of Galveston-Houston, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“We must come to the firm determination that there is a fundamental problem in our society. A Culture of Life cannot tolerate, and must prevent, senseless gun violence in all its forms. May the Lord, who Himself is Peace, send us His Spirit of charity and nonviolence to nurture His peace among us all.”
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