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US President Donald Trump said the worst mass shooting in Texas' history is not a "guns situation" rather about a man with a "mental health problem".
Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, walked into the white-steepled First Baptist Church in rural Sutherland Springs carrying an assault rifle and wearing black tactical gear, then opened fire during a Sunday prayer service. He wounded at least 20 others, officials said.
This isn't a guns situation. I mean we could go into it but it's a little bit soon to go into it," Mr Trump told reporters while on trip to Asia.
![Devin Kelley has been identified as the gunman. (Facebook)](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/K6qFLpWu7J2i8KM5EaesFtYt1uQ=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2017%2F11%2F06%2F10%2F45%2Fkelley1.jpg)
"But fortunately somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite direction, otherwise ... it would have been much worse. But this is a mental health problem at the highest level."
![Mona Rodriguez holds her 12-year-old son, J Anthony Hernandez, during a candlelight vigil held for the victims of a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. (AAP)](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/HjdGG26Drq3iNuQU4uhDBQvG3a8=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2017%2F11%2F06%2F12%2F45%2F20171106001322861902original.jpg)
![A sheriff said children are among the victims. (AAP)](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/9_J-QxC4CeZ55M83khll37owt7Y=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2017%2F11%2F06%2F09%2F14%2F0611_texas4_sp.jpg)
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott told CBS there was evidence that Kelley had mental health problems and that he had been denied a Texas gun permit, while Democrats renewed their call to restrict gun ownership.
New details emerged about Kelley overnight, with authorities revealing he was kicked out of the US Air Force for beating his wife and child and his in-laws worshipped at the church he opened fire at.
After Kelley left the church, two local residents, at least one of whom was armed, chased him in their vehicles and exchanged gunfire, and Kelley crashed his car and shot himself to death, Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt told CBS News in an interview on Monday morning (local time).
"We know that his ex in-laws or in-laws came to church here from time to time ... They were not here (on Sunday)."
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Kelley's deathtoll makes it the fourth deadliest attack in the US, tied with the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
The victims in Sutherland Springs, a community of fewer than 400 people, east of San Antonio, included the 14-year-old daughter of church pastor Frank Pomeroy.
One couple, Joe and Claryce Holcombe, told the Washington Post they lost eight extended family members, including a pregnant granddaughter-in-law and three of her children.
![The gunman died a short time after the attack. (AAP)](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/EXtYNAlIWJ3ItV9v6VxfDpVAINw=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2017%2F11%2F06%2F09%2F14%2F0611_texas5_sp.jpg)
![Family are awaiting news of their loved ones who were inside the church, which had a service scheduled for 11am. (AAP)](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/7v7GnOZgeIAbxbPtfC8Vqx3Tehk=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2017%2F11%2F06%2F09%2F14%2F0611_texas3_sp.jpg)
Kelley served in the Logistics Readiness unit at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico from 2010 until his discharge in 2014, according to the US Air Force.
Kelley was court-martialed in 2012 on charges of assaulting his wife and child, and given a bad-conduct discharge, confinement for 12 months and a reduction in rank, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said.
![The gunman had a picture of a rifle set as his cover photo on Facebook. (The Daily Beast)](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/7bNB8ZqQ2rH1TB589tCM0bmamwI=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2017%2F11%2F06%2F10%2F13%2F0611_devin_kelley_sp.jpg)
![The town where the shooting occured is close to the major Texas city of San Antonio. (Google)](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/zUSHNXiNVMTHWj1Ud4gZFVCJrMM=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2017%2F11%2F06%2F13%2F17%2FMAPTEXAS.jpg)
![Annabelle Pomeroy, 14, is the first confirmed victim of the shooting. (Facebook)](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/Z3OaJruAYR7-WGalp3QSw1aQQlM=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2017%2F11%2F06%2F09%2F51%2F0611_VICTIM_SP.jpg)
![Frank and Sherri Pomeroy lost their 14-year-old daughter Annabelle in the shooting. (Facebook)](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/_9lUKpt6TkRUmrQ-cLM6Afo8Y0I=/500x0/https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2017%2F11%2F06%2F09%2F30%2F0611_franksherri_sp.jpg)
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Kelley's Facebook page has been deleted, but cached photos show a profile picture where he appeared with two small children. He also posted a photo of what appeared to be an assault rifle, writing a post that read: "She's a bad b---h."