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posted by takyon on Monday November 06 2017, @02:25AM   Printer-friendly
At Least 26 Dead After Gunman Opens Fire In South Texas Church

Federal authorities are responding to a shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a small community southeast of San Antonio.

In a press conference Sunday night, an official from the Texas Department of Public Safety described the scene: Around 11:20 am, the suspect, dressed in black, approached the church and began firing an assault rifle. He then entered the church and continued firing.

Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed that at least 26 people were killed. A Texas Department of Public Safety official said the ages of the victims ranged from 5 to 72 years old. The AP reports that the pastor's 14-year-old daughter is among the dead.

The Department of Public Safety confirmed to NPR that at least 20 others were wounded. A DPS official said in the press conference that the gunman was confronted by an armed civilian outside of the church.

The shooter, who was found dead in neighboring Guadalupe County, has been identified as Devin Kelley, 26, a former Air Force member.

 
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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday November 06 2017, @05:07AM (2 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday November 06 2017, @05:07AM (#592868) Journal

    This is all symptomatic of fundamental societal stress that has built so high all the crazies are starting to pop off spontaneously.

    Crazies have been popping off for a long time. Wikipedia mentions US examples going back to the mid-19th century.

    I think societal stress would go down (hint! hint!), if people stopped seeing imaginary trends in one-time events.

  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday November 06 2017, @02:23PM (1 child)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Monday November 06 2017, @02:23PM (#593044) Journal

    That's another thing, there's never been a time when Americans haven't had a lot of guns. They have always had them. So why are there more of these incidents now when there weren't before? Why aren't there mass shootings every day in Switzerland, where every adult has a military assault rifle in his closet? If prevalence of guns explains shootings like these, then why don't they have them?

    People calling for gun control want the killings to stop. I want them to stop, too. But taking the guns away will not stop the killing. It will only change the method of killing.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday November 06 2017, @03:17PM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday November 06 2017, @03:17PM (#593084) Journal

      So why are there more of these incidents now when there weren't before?

      More incidents than when? I don't actually see the alleged increase in these incidents. Keep in mind that we have almost 350 million people in the US now.

      Why aren't there mass shootings every day in Switzerland, where every adult has a military assault rifle in his closet?

      There are 40 times as many US residents as there are Swiss (even at the start 377 mass shoots would correspond to 9 mass shootings in Switzerland, thus no daily mass shootings even at US rates per capita). The US is much more diverse and divisive ethnically and doesn't have the common interest that a common culture like the Swiss have (including better relationships between law enforcement and citizens). The war on drugs is more perverse in the US, for example, and that is a big driver of both mass shootings and of mental illness contributing to mass shootings (I'm of the opinion that widespread recreational drug use, both legal and illegal, especially when coupled with binging behavior common in the US, tends to cause more mental illness than it helps).

      And maybe there's less mass shootings in Switzerland because everyone knows that every male adult has a military assault rifle in his closet?