On November 5, 2017, a mass shooting took place at the First Baptist Church in the small unincorporated community of Sutherland Springs, Texas, about 40 miles (65 km) east of the city of San Antonio. It is the deadliest church shooting in American history, surpassing the Charleston church shooting of 2015. ^{[5] [7] [6] [5]}

At around 11:30 am CST, Devin Kelley entered the church and started firing. Federal law enforcement sources say he used an AR-15 type rifle, and a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety state he wore a ballistic vest and was dressed entirely in black. One witness described hearing "semi-automatic gunfire". Some sources reported that an armed citizen engaged with the suspect as he left the church building and may have injured him. ^{[11] [10] [9] [8]}

Kelley died by gunshot following a chase with local police through Guadalupe County, Texas, although it was unclear how he died.

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Federal Bureau of Investigation agents from nearby San Antonio, along with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, did not immediately reveal a motive.

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Twenty-six people were killed and 20 others were injured.

Twenty-three died inside the church, two outside, and one in a hospital.

The ages of the victims ranged from 5 to 72.

The Sunday service is usually attended by approximately 50 people.

Several children, one of them the 14-year-old daughter of church pastor Frank Pomeroy, Annabelle Pomeroy, was killed, as was a pregnant woman. ^{[11] [9] [7]}

The victims were taken to Connally Memorial Medical Center in Floresville, University Hospital in San Antonio and Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston.

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