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The gunman behind the Texas church massacre killed his grandmother-in-law during the attack, multiple friends of the woman told CNN.
Devin Patrick Kelley had domestic problems and texted his mother-in-law as recently as Sunday morning, not long before he carried out the largest mass shooting in Texas history, authorities said.
“We know that he expressed anger towards his mother-in-law, who attends this church,” said Freeman Martin of the Texas Department of Public Safety. He said Kelley had a history of sending her threatening texts.
But his mother-in-law was not inside the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs when Kelley sprayed the congregation with gunfire and killed 26 people. The youngest killed was a 17-month-old girl, her family told CNN. The oldest was 77 years old, Martin said.
The gunman’s grandmother-in-law, Lula White, was the grandmother of Kelley’s wife and often volunteered at the church, according to friends and her Facebook profile.
The friends asked not to be named as the family has decided to not speak to the media about White’s death at this time, though a few have posted on social media
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the massacre “the largest mass shooting” in the state’s history.
Latest developments
· Before the shooting, authorities say Kelley looked suspicious at a nearby gas station. “He was obviously suspicious to others based on the way he was dressed in all black,” Martin said. He said Kelley also had a black mask with a white, skull-type face on it, but it was unclear whether he was wearing the mask at the gas station. Kelley was wearing a ballistic vest with a plate on the front, Martin said.
· Ten of the 20 people wounded remain in critical condition Monday, authorities said. And virtually no one at the church was left unscathed, Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt said. “I think nearly everyone had some type of injury,” the sheriff told reporters Monday.
· After Kelley left the church, he was confronted and shot by an armed resident. After Kelley was shot, he called his father, telling him he didn’t think he was going to make it, Martin said. That’s when Kelley shot himself.
· It was not immediately clear whether Kelley died from the self-inflicted gunshot wound or from the shot by the resident. “However, investigators found evidence at the scene that indicates the subject may have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Martin said.
· Investigators have reviewed video footage from inside the church, Martin said.
Who were the victims?
The pastor of the church was out of town when the shooting occurred, but his daughter, 14-year-old Annabelle Pomeroy, was at the Sunday morning service and was killed, her mother Sherri Pomeroy said.
“We lost more than Belle yesterday, and the one thing that gives me a sliver of encouragement is the fact that Belle was surrounded by her church family that she loved fiercely, and vice versa,” Sherri Pomeroy said.
“Now most of our church family is gone. Our building is probably beyond repair. … As senseless as this tragedy was, our sweet Belle would not have been able to deal with losing so much family.”
The church’s visiting pastor was also among the dead, Sheriff Tackitt said.
So were eight members of one family, a relative and a community leader said. Those relatives span three generations and include a pregnant woman and three of her children.
Many of the victims have not been publicly identified, pending notification of family members.
Read more: CNN
