The Christian Science Monitor

In Texas, a small town reels – and rallies – after church shooting

Mike Gonzales (r.) of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio and Stephen A. Curry, pastor of the United Methodist Church in La Vernia, Texas, led mourners in prayer at a vigil Nov. 5, the day a lone gunman killed 26 people at morning worship in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. The mass shooting was the deadliest at a church in US history.

On a normal day in Sutherland Springs, Texas, all there is to fill the country air is the barks of local dogs and the hum of cars passing by. Indeed, locals say – with a hint of pride – you can drive through this town of several hundred without even noticing you did.

But Sunday was not a normal day here. Instead, a lone, black-clad gunman shattered the town’s tranquility with a hail of bullets that left at least 26 dead and 20 wounded in the First Baptist Church. Neighbors chased the gunman away and found him dead in his crashed car in the next county.

The tragedy in a close-knit, rural town that considers itself just outside of San Antonio’s commuting range was a reminder that in America, while

'Something in our culture''We will not be changed by one man'

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