(6 November 2017) More than 20 people were killed after a gunman walked into a church in a rural community about 30 miles east of San Antonio and opened fire on Sunday, an official said.
The official, Paul W. Pfeil, a Wilson County, Tex., commissioner, said he did not have a total count of the number of dead in the shooting, which occurred at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, but he said it was “more than 20.”
Albert Gamez Jr., another Wilson County commissioner, told CNN that he was told by the police that the gunman was chased into the next county and was killed, but it was not clear whether the police shot him or he killed himself.
Mr. Gamaz said he was told by an emergency medical technician that 27 people were dead and 24 others were injured.
He said the victims were still inside the church. Sutherland Springs is a small community where everyone knows one another, he said.
He added: “You never expect something like this. My heart is broken.”
David Keen, a constable in Wilson County, confirmed that there were casualties and said “there were kids involved.”
Sheriff Joe Tackitt of Wilson County told The Wilson County News that a man had entered the church and begun firing.
Megan Posey, a spokeswoman for Connally Memorial Medical Center in Floresville, Tex., said that she did not know exactly how many patients the hospital had received, but that it was continuing to receive more.
The hospital has activated its emergency response team, she said. Information about the conditions of patients was not immediately available.
“We’re sending more officers on the streets to help secure Connally Memorial while they’re bringing the casualties to the hospital,” Constable Keen said.
