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Church Shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas Leaves at Least 20 Dead


A mass shooting took place in a Texas church on Sunday and has left more than 20 dead and at least 20 injured, according to reports from local, national, and international outlets. The act of domestic terrorism occurred at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, a small rural community located 35 miles east of San Antonio. Local reports say a gunman walked into the church during the morning service and began shooting. The gunman has since been killed, though further details are still breaking.

Albert Gamez Jr., a commissioner in Wilson County, where Sutherland Springs is located, told CNN that he’d been told by police that the shooter was chased into the next county, where he was killed, though it’s unclear whether he killed himself or whether police killed him.

Although it’s not an officially confirmed estimate, he told the BBC that “what they’re telling me, [there are] like 27 deceased and over 20, 25 injured.” The editor of the area’s Wilson County News has said there are children among the fatalities; one of whom is reportedly the pastor’s 14-year-old daughter (he was in Oklahoma over the weekend, a rarity). Residents also told the BBC that about 50 people usually attend the service at this church on a given Sunday, making the high numbers even more heartbreaking.

Sutherland Springs, population 643, is a close-knit town, according to reports. Locals describe it as having a gas station and a post office. “That’s about all there really is,” one told the Times.

“You never expect something like this,” Gamez told the New York Times. “My heart is broken.”

“This is something that happens in a big city,” said a local who works at a gas station nearby. “I would never have thought this would have taken place here. It’s just too tight a community. It doesn’t make sense.”

President Donald Trump tweeted about the shooting soon after news broke. He’s currently on a diplomatic tour of Asia. His daughter and informal White House adviser, Ivanka Trump, also tweeted a statement.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton tweeted a statement sending the “thoughts and prayers of all Texans.” Texas Governor Greg Abbott echoed his sentiments in his own post.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) also tweeted, expressing gratitude for the first responders:

Las Vegas’ mayor, Carolyn Goodman, also offered her solidarity to the town:

The hospital continues to receive more injured in the shooting as the story breaks. We’ll update the story as we know more.





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My Grandfather Was Killed in the Charleston Church Shooting—Here's My Advice For Charlottesville


Dear Charlottesville,

HATE WON’T WIN. Two years ago, my grandfather was murdered at a bible study in a Charleston church basement when a white supremacist, who believed that African Americans are somehow undeserving of life, opened fired on an entire room of people during prayer. This man killed, in addition to my grandfather, eight other churchgoers who invited him in to learn about God in an act of hate and fear. But I didn’t give him the power to control my grandfather’s legacy, shake my faith, or make me hate him back. I was able to look at him and told him that although my family member died at the hands of hate, he lived in love, he preached love, and his legacy will be love so HATE WON’T WIN.

It amazes me how people can posses a physical heart that is empty of anything we associate with a symbolic heart. Things like love, compassion, and courtesy are absent from the hearts and minds of the neo-nazi, the white supremacist, and the so-called alt-right—and all their followers, in Charlottesville and beyond. People all around us are revealing their true character by either joining them, defending their actions, or even worse, saying absolutely nothing in the name of what is right. Yes they’re evil, yes they’re wrong, and no, they’re not alone. But as grim as it looks, HATE WON’T WIN.

I know this, because I’ve lived it. And I beat it. With God leading me, my family beside me, and a community of people behind me, I resisted the temptation to let their anger, fear, and ignorance penetrate my spirit because that would be exactly what they want. They want to see us disoriented, weak with pain, and drunk with anger. But I’m asking you to resist that temptation and be stronger, be greater, be the embodiment of love in the face of hate so they too will know that HATE WON’T WIN.

The author, Alana Simmons, and her late grandfather, Rev. Daniel Lee Simmons Sr.

So, you’re wondering: where do we go from here? Who do we turn to? Well, my call to action is simple and derived from the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who once said “We are ALL superbly equipped to do this. We have known the agony of being the underdog. We must have a passion for peace born out of the wretchedness and misery of war. Giving our ultimate allegiance to the empire of justice.”

All that means to me is that whoever you are and whatever you do, you can help cure this great nation of the hate that has plagued us for so long.

If you’re in education, teach your students to be culturally competent. If you have a family, expose them to other cultures in an intentional and appreciative manner. If you’re in religion, teach and preach all the principles of love and hold your congregations accountable. If you’re in politics, use a moral code to lead and govern. Represent all the people you serve, not just the few you identify with. If you’re in media, use the power of your platform to inspire. If you have a heart, honor the lives of those we’ve lost and unify so HATE WON’T WIN.

When I lost my grandfather I took those words—hate won’t win—and turned them into a call to action. I challenged the world to find someone, extend an act of love across cultural lines, post it to their social media pages, inspire someone else to do the same, and repeat. The spirit of love, reconciliation, truth, grace, and humility filled our nation and it was the witness of that experience changing people who looked, worshiped, and valued differently that ensured me that HATE WON’T WIN.

My thoughts, prayers, and actions are with you.

Sincerely,
Alana Simmons
Founder and CEO of Hate Won’t Win Movement, Inc.

*Hate Won’t Win is a non-profit organizations whose sole purpose is to advocate for unity through demonstrations of love. You can follow them on on Facebook @hatewontwinmovement.



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