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Texas Shooting First Responders Stunned

Texas Shooting First Responders Stunned

Investigators on Nov. 7, 2017, inspect the church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, where a gunman killed 26 people Nov. 5. (Kyodo via AP)

By    |   Wednesday, 08 November 2017 08:59 AM EST

Sunday's deadly Texas shooting left first responders stunned by what they found inside the First Baptist Church, The Houston Chronicle noted.

Devin Patrick Kelley left behind a blood bath when he opened fire on the church's morning congregation, killing 26 people and wounding about 20 others before fleeing the scene.

Volunteers from the La Vernia Emergency Medical Service were not prepared for what was laying wait for them inside the church that morning.

"That guy shot kids," emergency medical worker, Paul Brenner, told The Houston Chronicle. "It wasn't just like, 'I shoot you.' He shot kids to the point of mutilation."

Describing the scene, Brenner said babies had been shot at least two or three times, adding that more than 400 rounds had been emptied into the church.

It was a harrowing experience for the volunteer EMS team, who donate their time to serve the unit for free however, as they entered the church their training kicked in.

"You get in there and do what you've got to do," said Jamie Shaw, who was in the first truck that arrived at the scene, according to The Houston Chronicle.

For Wilson County emergency medical technician Torie McCallum, the experience was traumatic.

Speaking to KSAT, she described how she was on her way to the scene when she discovered it was at the church that her family members attended.

"I turn on my E-Dispatch on my phone to listen to the page and realized it was the church in Sutherland Springs and my heart immediately sank," Torie McCallum said.

Torie McCallum's sister-in-law, Crystal Holcombe; her nieces Emily, Megan and Evelyn; and her nephew, Greg Hill, were all inside the church along with Holcombe's husband, John Holcombe; his parents, Bryan and Karla Holcombe; his brother, Marc Holcombe; and 1-year-old niece, Noah, KSAT reported.

Among them only John Holcombe and 6-year-old Evelyn survived the incident.

CNN reported that Kelley had a history of violence.

Five years ago the gunman allegedly escaped from a mental health facility after he attempted to sneak guns onto an Air Force base and threatened commanders.

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TheWire
Sunday's deadly Texas shooting left first responders stunned by what they found inside the First Baptist Church, The Houston Chronicle noted.
texas, shooting, first responders, stunned
349
2017-59-08
Wednesday, 08 November 2017 08:59 AM
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