compiled by Rich Wang
On November 5, at least 26 people were killed at the First Baptist Church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. About 20 others were wounded, said Freeman Martin, a regional director with the Texas Department of Public Safety, with victims ranging in age from 5 to 72 years old. Among the dead is the 14-year-old daughter of the First Baptist Church’s pastor, Frank Pomeroy. The man was out of state with his wife when the shooting occurred.

The shooting has devastated Sutherland Springs, described as a place where “everybody knows everybody.” Authorities have not said what may have motivated the suspected shooter, who was later found dead in his vehicle. Dressed all in black and wearing tactical gear and a ballistic vest, Kelley first began firing outside the church at around 11:20 a.m. before he continued his shooting spree inside, said Freeman Martin, a regional director with the Texas Department of Public Safety. He was armed with a “Ruger AR assault-type rifle,” he said. He then left the gas station, crossed the street, exited his vehicle and began firing before he entered the church.

Later, he fled the church. The shooter was killed after a brief chase north into neighboring Guadalupe County, Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Robert Murphy said earlier on Sunday. Authorities said they don’t know if the wound was self-inflicted or the result of the resident who fired on the suspect. A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation said multiple weapons were found in Kelley’s car. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott informed that as Kelley had applied for and been denied a right-to-carry permit from the state of Texas, the only way for him to have obtained the weapons was after failing to get a license in the state.

“It was after that that he was able to buy this gun … so there’s ongoing information that needs to be gathered,” Abbott said.

The suspected shooter has been identified as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley, according to two law enforcement sources who have been briefed on the investigation. Kelley was a former member of the Air Force, discharged for bad conduct in 2014. Ann Stefanek, a spokeswoman for the Air Force, confirmed that Kelley was court-martialed in 2012 on two charges of assaulting his wife and child. He was imprisoned for a year and reduced in rank to airman basic E-1 before his discharge, she said.

Earlier, authorities had said victims were 5 to 72 years old; on Monday, Martin clarified that those were the ages of injured victims who were hospitalized, and that of the dead, the youngest was just 18 months, and the oldest was 77 years old. He said that 23 people were found dead inside the church, two were found dead outside the church and that another person who had been transported from the scene had died.

Eastvale resident Tony Wang states that Kelley probably “felt pressure,” adding that a possible factor may have been that he though that “there was nothing he could do.” It is possible that being discharged from the military, being denied a gun license, and being court-martialed caused the man to be under pressure and decide that the only way to solve his conflict was to assault the church. It could also be a mix of the events, or even not related to them at all. As there is still no confirmed motive, there is only speculation for what Kelly intended to achieve. For now, investigations are ongoing.