Three generations of a single family, including a pregnant woman, three of her five children and her in-laws are among the 26 people who were tragically killed during Sunday’s church shooting in Texas.
Crystal Holcombe shared her pride about her five children on her Facebook page. She had recently posted about her daughters Emily and Megan finishing third and first in their respective categories in a bake off and shared photos of their accomplishments.
But the loving mother, who was eight months pregnant, was killed Sunday inside First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs along with her daughters Emily and Megan and son Greg when gunman Devin Kelley sprayed the congregation with bullets.
Her in-laws and the children’s grandparents, Bryan and Karla Holcombe, were also fatally gunned down in the church.
Heartbreaking: Eight months pregnant Crystal Holcombe (center) died in the church shooting on Sunday alongside her song Greg (far left), daughters Emily and Megan. Her husband, John (far right) survived alongside two of their children. It’s unclear if they are among the injured
Sisters Emily (left) and Megan (right) enjoyed baking fun treats with their mother. Crystal recently posted on Facebook about how her girls won a baking contest. Megan is pictured right being presented with the certificate for the contest
Greg (right) seemingly loved participating in karate, as his mother and sister Emily also joined him in the activity
Crystal’s in-laws, Bryan and Karla Holcombe (together above), were also gunned down in the church. Bryan had been standing in as pastor for Frank Pomeroy, and witnesses say he was the first victim to be struck by the shooter’s gunfire
Crystal Holcombe (left) was married to Bryan and Karla Holcombe’s son John (right) and had been at church with her in-laws when she was shot dead
Bryan had been standing in as pastor for Frank Pomeroy, and witnesses say he was the first victim to be struck by the shooter’s gunfire.
‘Bryan was filling in,’ the witness, who did not want to be named, told DailyMail.com. ‘He was walking up to the pulpit when he was shot in the back.
‘He was an awesome Christian,’ they added.
His Sunday school teacher wife of 25 years was shot by the gunman.
‘The family is just devastated,’ the witness added.
The couple ran a canvas repair shop before retiring and had attended the church for 25 years.
‘My father was a good man and he loved to preach. He had a good heart. They knew where they were going. There’s peace in that,’ their son Scott Holcombe told the Herald-Tribune.
The couple’s other son, Marc Daniel Holcombe, 36, was also killed, according to Joe Holcombe, the father of Bryan.
He said that Marc Daniel’s infant daughter, Noah Holcombe – who was barely a year old – also died.
Joann Ward (pictured) was among the 26 people gunned down when Devin Patrick Kelley burst into the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in Texas and opened fire
Sisters six-year-old Brooke (left) and eight-year-old Emily Garza (pictured, right, sitting on the right, next to her sister Rihanna) were killed in the shooting according to her family. Nine-year-old Rihanna (sitting next to Emily) had her glasses shot off her face but survived
Crystal’s husband, John Holcombe, survived the shooting alongside two of their children. It’s unknown if they were injured during the shocking incident that left eight of their family members dead.
The other 26 victims include mother-of-four Joann Ward and three of her children were also shot. Family have since told the Dallas News that Joann and two of her daughters, six-year-old Brooke and eight-year-old Emily have died.
Ward’s five-year-old stepson Ryland, who was shot four times, is still in the hospital after undergoing emergency surgery. The mom’s eldest daughter Rihanna, nine, had the glasses shot off her face but escaped injury by hiding under a pew as shots rang out.
Fourteen-year-old Annabelle Pomeroy also died in the shooting and was the first one identified as deceased among the victims.
Her adopted father, First Baptist Church Pastor Frank Pomeroy, had been out of town during the attack. The grieving dad told ABC he’s lost ‘one beautiful girl, and a ‘special child.’
‘Heaven truly gained a real beautiful angel this morning along with many more,’ the girl’s uncle, Scott Pomeroy, wrote on his Facebook page, posting a picture of the smiling girl poolside in a bathing suit.
Annabelle Pomeroy, the 14-year-old adopted daughter of the church pastor, was the first victim identified in Sunday’s shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas on Sunday. Her mother said having fun at the pool was her favorite thing
He wrote: All those robbed of life in Sunday’s bloodbath, he wrote, ‘have taken their last breath of dirty air and took their first breath of heavenly air with new bodies with no pain and suffering.’
Officials have yet to publicly identify the remaining victims pending family notification.
It’s now been revealed that the shooter had family connections to the church where he caused what is now the worst mass shooting in the state’s history.
During an afternoon press conference, police revealed that Kelley was in a domestic dispute with his mother-in-law, Michelle Shields, who attended the church.
Officials said he sent ‘threatening texts’ to his mother-in-law, but wouldn’t go into further detail about their ‘domestic situation’. The Shields family were not present during worship on Sunday when the massacre unfolded, but spoke to investigators after.
Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackett said on Monday that Devin Kelley’s (right) in-laws attended the Texas church he attacked on Sunday. Tackett said Kelley and his wife Danielle (left) were estranged
The shooting happened at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs (pictured), where around 50 people usually attend service, according to local reports
Earlier in the day, Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackett told reporters that Kelley and his wife Danielle were estranged. Marriage records show the couple tied the knot in Comal County, Texas on April 4, 2014, when Kelley was 23 and his bride was 19. As of Monday, Danielle’s Facebook profile still listed her relationship status as ‘married’ and photos on the account show pictures of two young kids – a baby girl and an older boy.
It was previously reported that Kelley’s wife was a former teacher at the school, and that her mother was a parishioner.
A Texas Department of Safety official, Freeman Martin, said on Monday that the deceased ranged in age from 18 months to 77.
He said of the 20 injured, 10 people were still hospitalized in critical condition.
Martin said those treated in hospitals ranged in age from 5 to 73.
An official with University Health System in San Antonio said five people remained hospitalized Monday — three children and two adults.
Investigators work at the scene of a deadly shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Sunday
Martha Rendon said the patients range in age from 4 to 57 years old, with their conditions listed as being from serious to critical.
Rendon also said one of the victims who died Sunday was a pediatric patient that had been transported to the hospital. She declined to release further details on the child.
A spokeswoman for Connally Memorial Medical Center in Floresville said one person was listed in stable condition Monday. Megan Posey declined to release additional details on the patient.
Officials with Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, which received eight patients on Sunday, did not immediately provide an update Monday.