‘We choose life,’ pastor tells flock week after attack
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — Hundreds of mourners crowded into the tiny town of Sutherland Springs for the first Sunday service since a gunman stormed the First Baptist Church a week earlier, killing more than two dozen people in the worst mass shooting in Texas history.
In a service that was emotional and painful but also uplifting, Pastor Frank Pomeroy shared his personal heartache and a message that the community bound together by faith can move past the evil that attacked the church seven days earlier.
“Rather than choose darkness as that young man did that day, we choose life,” said Pomeroy, whose 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle, was among those killed in the Nov. 5 rampage. His voice cracked as he spoke about losing his child.
“I know everyone who gave their life that day,” he said, pausing to gather himself. “Some of whom were my best friends and my daughter.” He wiped his eyes, then added, “I guarantee they are dancing with Jesus today.”
Initially, the church had planned to hold Sunday’s service at an adjacent community center, which can accommodate a few dozen people. But when organizers realized hundreds planned to attend, the service was moved to a large tent placed in a baseball field.
So many people turned up that the tent’s side flaps had to be opened for an overflow crowd so that those who couldn’t get a seat could see and hear. Mark Collins, a previous pastor at First Baptist, said it was the largest gathering in the church’s 100-year history.
The front three rows were reserved for survivors of the attack and the families of those killed.
Later Sunday, a temporary memorial opened inside the church where 26 empty chairs have been placed. Authorities put the official death toll at 26 because one of the 25 people killed was pregnant. Church officials have said the building will probably be demolished.
The gunman, Devin Patrick Kelley, went aisle to aisle looking for victims and shot crying babies at point-blank range, according to witness accounts. The dead ranged in age from 18 months to 77 years old. About 20 people were wounded in the shooting.
Kelley died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after he was shot and chased by two men who heard the gunfire at the church. Investigators have said the attack appeared to stem from a domestic dispute involving Kelley and his mother-in-law, who sometimes attended services at the church but wasn’t there the day of the shooting.