Stand-in pastor and 7 relatives killed
A STAND-IN church pastor and seven members of his family were among those killed in the church massacre.
Bryan Holcombe had led the service at the First Baptist Church because the chief pastor, Frank Pomeroy, was away in Oklahoma. Mr Pomeroy’s 14-year-old daughter Annabelle was also among the dead.
Gunman Devin Kelley’s victims included three generations of Mr Holcombe’s family, including his pregnant daughter-inlaw and baby grandchild.
Relatives said Mr Holcombe was killed along with his wife Karla, as well as their son Marc, 36, and his 18-month-old daughter Noah – the youngest victim of the tragedy. Another of the pastor’s sons, John, survived with shrapnel wounds to his leg but his pregnant wife Crystal was killed. Three of that couple’s children – Emily, Megan and Greg – were killed, with two more surviving.
Bryan Holcombe’s parents, Joe and Claryce, were not present as they attend a different Texas church.
His father told the Washington Post yes- terday that they first learned of the pastor’s death in a phone call from one of his colleagues. When he asked about his son and daughter-in-law, he was told: ‘They’re both in heaven.’ He only learned the true scale of his family’s loss as the day progressed.
Mr Holcombe said: ‘ We knew when [Bryan] was born, that he was going to be a preacher ... his first word was “God”.
‘It’s of course going to be difficult ... [but] we are Christians, we have read The Book. We know the ending, and it’s good. They’re in heaven and they’re a lot better off than we are.’