At least 26 people have been killed and 20 others wounded after a gunman opened fire at a Texas church during Sunday service.<\/p>\n
The attack happened at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, a small town in Wilson County. The victims\u2019 ages ranged from five to 72.<\/p>\n
The suspected gunman was later found dead in his vehicle some miles away.<\/p>\n
Police identified him only as a \u201cyoung, white male\u201d, but US media named him as Devin Patrick Kelley, 26.<\/p>\n
Kelley is reported to have been discharged from the US Air Force in 2014 following a court-martial for assaulting his wife and child.<\/p>\n
The motive for the killings is not yet clear.<\/p>\n
Texas Department of Public Safety regional director Freeman Martin said the attacker, dressed all in black and wearing a bulletproof vest, opened fire with an assault-style rifle outside the church at around 11:30 local time (17:30 GMT) and then went inside.<\/p>\n
As the gunman left the church, a local citizen grabbed his own rifle and began shooting at the suspect, who then dropped his weapon and fled in a vehicle.<\/p>\n
The citizen pursued the suspect, who eventually drove off the road and crashed his car at the Guadalupe County line.<\/p>\n
Police found the man dead in his car, but it is unclear if he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or from injuries received when fired on by the local citizen. The car contained several weapons.<\/p>\n
Mr Martin added: \u201cWe have multiple crime scenes. We have the church, outside the church. We have where the suspect\u2019s vehicle was located.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been following up on the suspect and where he\u2019s from. We have Texas Rangers at all the hospitals locating those and interviewing those who were injured.\u201d<\/p>\n
Governor Greg Abbott, confirming the death toll, said it was the worst mass shooting in the history of Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will be a long, suffering mourning for those in pain,\u201d he said at a news conference on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The First Baptist Church\u2019s pastor, Frank Pomeroy, told ABC News that his 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle, was among those killed.<\/p>\n
Mr Pomeroy, who was in Oklahoma at the time of the attack, described her as \u201cone very beautiful, special child\u201d in a phone call to the television outlet.<\/p>\n
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