Plans to demolish Texas church where gunman opened fire in 2017 draws visitors back to sanctuary
Plans to tear down a small Texas church where a gunman in 2017 killed more than two dozen worshippers brought visitors back to the rural sanctuary amid a last-minute push by some families to stop the demolition. Leaders of First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs have not publicly announced when it plans to demolish the sanctuary, where authorities put the number of dead from the shooting at 26 people, including a pregnant woman and her unborn child in what remains the deadliest church shooting in U.S. history. Following the shooting, the sanctuary was turned into a memorial. The church then voted in 2021 to tear down the building, which opponents have contended was against the wishes of many surviving family members.
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Communities across the U.S. have grappled with what should happen to the sites of mass shootings. A small Texas church where a gunman killed 26 is among them.
