Families and the community of Sutherland Springs are grieving after a man entered First Baptist Church on November 5, killing 26 and injuring 20 others. Making the horrific act even worse was the fact that children were among the victims, with the youngest a mere five years old. The small town in Texas, and the entire nation, are grieving after the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the state of Texas.
A man named Devin Patrick Kelley, clad in all black, stepped outside the Sunday service gripping a Ruger military-style rifle. After shooting a few times, he then entered the church, continuing the massacre. Kelley ran from the building, leaving chaos, anguish and suffering in his wake.
Kelley has had a turbulent past, often saying disturbing things. An old co-worker Jessika Edwards told CNN that Kelley voiced strange thoughts and once told her he was “using dogs as target practice.” He even praised a man who killed nine in a South Carolina church, saying “Isn’t it cool? Did you watch the news?” Kelley told Edwards “he wished he had the nerve to do it, but all he would be able to do is kill animals.” Additionally, he was convicted of beating his wife and child. His mental stability has been called into question.
President Trump believes the massacre was a “mental health problem at the highest level” and that this was not “a guns situation”. Others disagree, and it has come to light that due to a previous confliction while in the Air Force, authorities should have been informed and Kelley should not have been allowed to purchase the gun that he used to kill innocent people. Both the failure of communication and Kelley’s ability to easily obtain the gun should have been preventable.
The situation, one that America has repeatedly seen time after time again in recent years, cultivates debate on the current gun laws and the availability and easy obtainment of weapons that can be used for mass destruction.
The church where the terrible shooting took place has since been turned into a memorial for those lost. The entire inside has been painted a brilliant white, and twenty-six chairs are set up around the church, in honor of those who lost their lives. A rose was placed upon each chair. The solemnity and sadness of the room are deeply contrasting from a week ago.
