Hundreds Line Up For Texas Shooting Funeral
DALLAS (AP) — Hundreds of mourners lined up to enter a funeral service Wednesday for eight members of a family who were among the more than two dozen killed in a shooting at a small Texas church.
At least seven hearses could be seen outside an event center in Floresville, Texas, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, where the Nov. 5 shooting occurred.
Church member John Holcombe, among the massacre's few survivors, was holding the funeral for his pregnant wife and three of her children, his parents, a brother and a toddler niece. The dead will be buried privately on an unspecified date.
News reporters were barred from entering inside the event center and were being held in a pen with two trucks obscuring the view inside.
The gunman, Devin Patrick Kelley, began firing into the church as John Holcombe's father, Bryan Holcombe, an assistant pastor, ascended to the pulpit. Walking up and down the center aisles, Kelley killed 25 people at the church. Authorities have put the official toll at 26, because John Holcombe's wife, Crystal Holcombe, was pregnant.
Holcombe was managing the church's audio-visual operations at the back of the building and escaped with minor injuries. His 7-year-old step-daughter Evelyn also escaped the barrage of gunfire.
Kelley died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he fled in a vehicle. Authorities say Kelley was involved in a domestic dispute with his mother-in-law, a member of the church who wasn't present that day.
Eight survivors remained hospitalized Wednesday at two San Antonio-area hospitals, their condition ranging from good to critical.
Brooke Army Medical Center reported five adults, listed in good to critical condition. University Health System had two children and one adult still hospitalized, with their conditions ranging from fair to serious.
Further details on the hospitalized victims weren't released.
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