Law enforcement officials continue to investigate the scene of a shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, in Sutherland Springs, Texas. A man opened fire inside the church in the small South Texas community on Sunday, killing more than two dozen and injuring others. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Republished November 07, 2017 - 5:36 PM
Original Publication Date November 07, 2017 - 3:11 PM
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas - The Texas church gunman went aisle by aisle through the First Baptist pews looking for victims and shot crying babies at point-blank range, a couple who survived the attack said.
Rosanne Solis and Joaquin Ramirez were sitting near the church entrance Sunday when they heard what sounded like firecrackers and realized someone was shooting at the tiny wood-frame building in the small town of Sutherland Springs.
In an interview with San Antonio television station KSAT , Solis said congregants began screaming and dropped to the floor. She could see bullets flying into the carpet and fellow worshippers falling down, bloodied, after getting hit.
For a moment, the attack seemed to stop, and worshippers thought that police had arrived to confront the gunman, later identified as Devin Patrick Kelley. But then he entered the church and resumed "shooting hard" at helpless families, Solis said.
The gunman checked each aisle for more victims, including babies who cried out amid the noise and smoke, Ramirez said.
The couple survived by huddling close to the ground and playing dead. Solis was shot in the arm. Ramirez was hit by shrapnel.
"The Lord saved me because I know it was my last day," Solis told the station.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017