Current:Home > BackCrews begin demolishing Texas church where gunman killed more than two dozen in 2017-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Crews begin demolishing Texas church where gunman killed more than two dozen in 2017
View Date:2024-12-23 18:36:24
SUTHERLAND SPRING, Texas (AP) — Crews started Monday to tear down a Texas church where a gunman killed more than two dozen worshippers in 2017, using heavy machinery to raze the small building after some families had sought to preserve the scene of the deadliest church shooting in U.S. history.
A judge cleared the way last month for First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs to tear down the sanctuary where the attack took place.
The church until now had kept the sanctuary as a memorial. Members of First Baptist voted in 2021 to tear down the building over the protests of some in the small community.
Authorities put the number of dead in the Nov. 5, 2017, shooting at 26 people, including a pregnant woman and her unborn baby.
A new church was completed for the congregation about a year and a half after the shooting.
Earlier this summer, a Texas judge granted a temporary restraining order sought by some families. But another judge later denied a request to extend that order, setting in motion the demolition. In court filings, attorneys for the church called the structure a “constant and very painful reminder.”
The man who opened fire in the church, Devin Patrick Kelley, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he was chased by bystanders and crashed his car. Investigators have said the shooting appeared to stem from a domestic dispute involving Kelley and his mother-in-law, who sometimes attended services at the church but was not present on the day of the shooting.
Communities across the U.S. have grappled with what should happen to the sites of mass shootings. Last month, demolition began on the three-story building where 17 people died in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. After the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, it was torn down and replaced.
___
Stengle reported from Dallas.
veryGood! (4421)
Related
- Bluesky has added 1 million users since the US election as people seek alternatives to X
- Schools reopen with bolstered security in Kentucky county near the site of weekend I-75 shooting
- A strike would add to turbulent times at Boeing
- Alabama university ordered to pay millions in discrimination lawsuit
- Stock market today: Asian stocks dip as Wall Street momentum slows with cooling Trump trade
- A strike would add to turbulent times at Boeing
- Before that awful moment, Dolphins' Tyreek Hill forgot something: the talk
- Eva Mendes Details What Helps When Her and Ryan Gosling’s Kids Have Anxiety
- Mike Tyson concedes the role of villain to young foe in 58-year-old’s fight with Jake Paul
- Three people wounded in downtown Dallas shooting; police say suspect is unknown
Ranking
- Will the NBA Cup become a treasured tradition? League hopes so, but it’s too soon to tell
- September 2024 full moon is a supermoon and harvest moon: When to see it
- Proposals to Build California’s First Carbon Storage Facilities Face a Key Test
- Colorado mayor, police respond to Trump's claims that Venezuelan gang is 'taking over'
- Miami Marlins hiring Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough as manager
- Three people wounded in downtown Dallas shooting; police say suspect is unknown
- In 2014, protests around Michael Brown’s death broke through the everyday, a catalyst for change
- It took 50,000 gallons of water to put out Tesla Semi fire in California, US agency says
Recommendation
-
Mega Millions winning numbers for November 8 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
-
Measure to repeal Nebraska’s private school funding law should appear on the ballot, court rules
-
Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza & Wings parent company BurgerFi files for bankruptcy
-
Actor James Hollcroft Found Dead at 26
-
'The Penguin' spoilers! Colin Farrell spills on that 'dark' finale episode
-
North Carolina Gov. Cooper’s second-term environmental secretary is leaving the job
-
Schools reopen with bolstered security in Kentucky county near the site of weekend I-75 shooting
-
Katy Perry Reveals Her and Orlando Bloom's Daughter Daisy Looks Just Like This Fictional Character