Shooting deaths touch three generations in Texas town

A pregnant mother and three of her other children were among those killed by Devin Patrick Kelley during the Sunday morning worship service at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas. Twenty-six people died in the shooting, including the unborn child of Crystal Holcombe, whose in-laws, Bryan and Karla Holcombe, were also killed, according to a Washington Post report. Bryan Holcombe was the church’s associate pastor and was filling in for Pastor Frank Pomeroy, who was out of town. Pomeroy’s 14-year-old daughter Annabelle was killed in the attack. Pomeroy’s wife, Sherri, also was out of town in a different state. “You lean into what you don’t understand,” Frank Pomeroy said at a news conference Monday morning with his wife by his side. “You lean into the Lord.” The massacred churchgoers ranged in age from 18 months to 77 years old. The shooter wounded 20 other people at the church. An official with University Health System in San Antonio said five people remained hospitalized there Monday—three children and two adults. Freeman Martin, a regional director of the Texas Department of Safety, said 10 people remain hospitalized in critical condition. Family and friends have identified some of the other people killed, including Joann Ward and two of her daughters, who were 5 and 7 years old.

Editor’s note: This article has been edited to reflect the correct number of deaths in Sunday’s shooting. On Tuesday, Nov. 7, officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety said their count of 26 deaths included the unborn child of Crystal Holcombe, who was pregnant when she and three of her other children were killed.