Crews have begun tearing down the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in Texas, where a gunman killed more than two dozen worshippers in 2017. Despite some families seeking to preserve the scene of the deadliest church shooting in U.S. history, a judge ruled last month to allow the church to demolish the sanctuary.
The shooting on November 5, 2017, left 26 people dead, including a pregnant woman and her unborn baby. The sanctuary had been kept as a memorial, with the interior painted white and chairs bearing the names of the victims. However, after a vote by church members in 2021 to tear it down, the demolition began.
For many in the community, the church was a place of solace. Terrie Smith, president of the Sutherland Springs Community Association, who lost a woman like a daughter and her two grandchildren in the shooting, expressed sadness, anger, and hurt as she watched the sanctuary being torn down.
The decision to demolish the church had been met with opposition from some families, who filed a lawsuit hoping for a new vote. Despite a temporary restraining order being granted earlier, a judge later denied an extension, allowing the demolition to proceed.
The man who carried out the shooting, Devin Patrick Kelley, died by suicide following the attack. Communities across the U.S. have grappled with what to do with the sites of mass shootings, with some being torn down and replaced, while others have been reopened. The demolition of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs marks another chapter in the aftermath of a tragic event that shook the nation.
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