Victims in Sutherland Springs church shooting identified
Authorities released an official list of those killed in Sutherland Springs church shooting over the weekend that killed 26 people.
DPS released the official list on Wednesday. Eight male victims and 17 female victims ranging in age from 1 to 77 are on the Texas Department of Public Safety list. The list also includes the unborn baby of Crystal Holcombe, identified on the list as Carlin Brite "Billy Bob" Holcombe, age 0 and gender unknown.
Eight of the victims slain Sunday at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs were children and teenagers ranging in age from 1 to 16 years old. The full list:
56-year-old Robert Scott Marshall
56-year-old Karen Sue Marshall
62-year-old Keith Allen Braden
33-year-old Tara E. McNulty
14-year-old Annabelle Renae Pomeroy
56-year-old Peggy Lynn Warden
77-year-old Dennis Neil Johnson, Sr.
68-year-old Sara Johns Johnson
71-year-old Lula Woicinski White
30-year-old Joann Lookingbill Ward
5-year-old Brooke Bryanne Ward
51-year-old Robert Michael Corrigan
51-year-old Shani Louise Corrigan
66-year-old Therese Sagan Rodriguez
64-year-old Ricardo Cardona Rodriguez
16-year-old Haley Krueger
7-year-old Emily Garcia
11-year-old Emily Rose Hill
13-year-old Gregory Lynn Hill
9-year-old Megan Gail Hill
36-year-old Marc Daniel Holcombe
1-year-old Noah Holcombe
58-year-old Karla Plain Holcombe
60-year-old John Bryan Holcombe
36-year-old Crystal Marie Holcombe (pregnant*)
*Carlin Brite "Billy Bob" Holcombe (unborn)
Also on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to South Texas to console victims, families and friends of the victims.
The memorial at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs continues to grow. Tributes for those killed include stuffed animals, crosses, flowers and hand-written notes.
"Words fail when saints and heroes fall,” The vice president said at the vigil in Floresville, Texas.
During the vigil, Pence thanked the first responders for their life-saving efforts and the two neighbors who are credited with stopping the gunman from killing anyone else.
"Stephen Willeford, the plumber who grabbed his rifle and engaged the assailant, and Johnny Langendorff — both of whom we just met who pursued that attacker in a high-speed chase and saved the lives of Americans as a result,” Pence said.
The service came just hours after Pence met personally in Sutherland Springs with those who were injured and family members of those who were killed.
"I know the cherished names of the fallen will live on forever in the hearts of those who knew them,” he said. “But let me assure you their names will also be enshrined in the hearts of every American."
Before the vice president spoke, Governor Greg Abbott addressed the crowd. He put an emphasis on prayer, God, and the resilient spirit of those in the community.
"We will not be overcome by evil,” Abbott told the crowd. “We will overcome evil with good."
There were some tense moments before the vice president arrived in Floresville. Police there got a call about a possible active shooter but it turned out to be a false alarm.
In the meantime, FBI agents are still unable to unlock the gunman’s encrypted cellphone to learn what evidence it might hold.
Documents show Devin Kelly awaited a court-martial by the Air Force. He was committed to a mental hospital in New Mexico and briefly escaped.
In spite of the red flags, the Air Force failed to report Kelly to the FBI’s national gun buyer’s database. Had that been done, the gunman would have been banned from purchasing the weapons he used in the shooting.