Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s simple, heartbreaking words confirming 26 parishioners died in yesterday’s mass shooting said it all.
“There are 26 lives that have been lost. We don’t know if that number will rise, all we know is that’s too many,” said Abbott
Too many senseless attacks with the goal of slaughtering as many people as possible. Too many areas meant for concerts, worship or play suddenly turned into killing fields. Too many victims — ranging in age from 5 years old to 72 — targeted with the goal of mass slaughter.
The shooting rampage at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, is the deadliest assault in that state’s history and erupted as community members gathered to pray.
It comes a little over a month after the deadliest mass shooting in the nation’s history in Las Vegas, where a gunman unleashed a hail of gunfire at a country music festival on Oct. 1, killing 58 and injuring more than 500. And it happened less than a week after a terrorist rented a truck and plowed through a crowd on a Manhattan bike path, killing eight people and injuring 12.
“In dark times — and these are dark times — such as these, Americans do what they do best: we pull together,” said President Trump, calling the incident an “act of evil.”
The question no one seems to ask after each of these incidents: What has become of us as a nation, that produces so much of this kind of murderous rage, this kind of evil?
There never seems to be a uniform reason, just a uniform result in growing body counts.
Texas law enforcement officials identified Devin Kelley, age 26, as the shooter. There was no information made available last night that would suggest a motive.
Kelley, who once served in the Air Force, was dressed in all black tactical gear and came armed with several guns before he opened fire, including a “Ruger AR assault-type rifle,” said Freeman Martin, a regional director with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
As of last night, Kelley’s motive is unknown. But the cumulative impact of his and recent other mass killings was clear.
“There’s just this hatefulness in this country and in this world,” said a shell-shocked Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick yesterday afternoon during an interview with Fox News. “We must look inward. We can be better as people but not if we stay quiet.”
The political cries for gun control and further legislation will start soon enough.
Yesterday, politicians and residents focused on the pain of such relentless hate and issued a plea for healing.
“We ask for God’s comfort, for God’s guidance, and for God’s healing for all those who are suffering,” Abbott said.
