Mass Shooting in Texas Church - Another Day, Another Tragedy

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It's happened again. The deadliest mass shooting in Texas history occurred in a church in a small town.  26 people between the ages of 5-72 were killed while attending a church service.  If there were ever a place where the public should feel safe it's a church.  Nothing is sacred anymore.  How are these people getting assault rifles anyway?  NRA, are you listening now?  Is this what the right to bare arms means?  I think you need to change your mission statement.NOBODY has the right to do this, not in the United States of America.

The shooter has been reportedly identified as 26 year old Devin Kelley, who received a bad conduct discharge from the Air Force and has previously been charged with domestic violence for assaulting his spouse and child. He served 12 months before being court martialed.  Rehabilitated?  You decide. Kelley allegedly posted photos on social media of a AR-15 semi-automatic gun.

Devin Kelley

Kelley reportedly pulled into a gas station across the street from the church at approximately 11:20AM wearing tactical gear and bullet proof vest. His intentions seemed clear.  Didn't anybody notice him crossing the street dressed in this gear?  He approached the church and immediately began firing shots into the church building - the congregation had nowhere to run or hide. They were virtually trapped in that building.  He walked down the middle of the church and fired at will into the pews before walking back out.

A brave bystander stepped up and confronted the shooter with his own rifle. Some time later, Kelley was found dead from a gunshot wound in his vehicle.  The hero bystander had some help from a passing motorist who assisted him in attempting to detain Kelley.  Johnnie Langendorf witnessed the confrontation between Kelley and the bystander and the two men chased Kelley in Langendorf's truck. Kelley eventually lost control of his vehicle and crashed.  If it wasn't for these two brave citizens, who knows where Kelley's next stop may have been or how many more people he planned on gunning down.

Authorities are still searching for a motive for this mass shooting.  Kelley's life clearly seems to have been unraveling, but many people have problems in their lives and do not do this.  There is no legitimate motive for killing innocent people period.  Churches are sacred places of safety - or at least that's what they are meant to be.  People go to church to worship, pray for hope and health and generally serve the communities where they live.  It's about faith and family.  After several church shootings, do people have real reason to fear?

It's amazing that this man was able to obtain the weapon used in the shooting. He has a felony record of assault and was court martialed from the Air force. It's being reported that he worked as a security guard after lying or failing to disclose his criminal history on his history. Why didn't a background check catch this?  Did the system fail?  Being in the military, he knew how to use the weapon(s).  These weapons in the wrong hands cause tragedies of epic proportions..

Among the dead is the 14 year old daughter of church pastor Frank Pomeray, who was out of town with his wife at the time of the shooting.  When is it going to be enough for the citizens in this country to take a hard stand and demand change?  WE pay taxes, we elect the officials to take our concerns to task.  WE NEED TO DEMAND CHANGE and better gun control laws now.  There is no time to waste.  Let's make these legislators earn their pay or find someone who WILL listen to the words of the people they are supposed to represent.

It sickens me to read about these shootings on the front page on a near daily basis.  It's time to do something.  Go to Change.org and sign as many petitions as you can find relating to assault rifles, gun control, the modification of weapons etc.  One person won't make a difference, but together we can exact change.  It's our problem as a society. LET'S STAND TOGETHER PEOPLE.