The family of a man who was seriously injured during the mass shooting at a Texas church have been struck with tragedy for a second time, after their home was consumed in a blaze.
Marion Colbath, and his grandson Hank Summers, were forced to flee their San Antonio house in the early hours of Wednesday after it went up in flames.
Relatives say Colbath was already struggling to cope with stress after his son David was shot at the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church mass shooting on November 5, which left 26 dead and more than 20 injured.
Marion Colbath, and his grandson Hank Summers, were forced to flee their San Antonio house in the early hours of Wednesday after it went up in flames
Firefighter tackled the blaze for hours after it caught alight in the early hours of Wednesday
Marions’ (left) son David Colbath (right) was injured in the Texas church mass shooting
David remains in hospital where he has undergone multiple surgeries on gunshot wounds on his arms and legs, and is said to be in a stable condition.
Now his father Marion, a great grandfather and father-of-three, has not only lost his home, but says he’s been left with little more than the clothes on his back after everything from his medication to irreplaceable keepsakes were lost in the blaze.
His family said the elderly homeowner had been left devastated by the incident.
In a GoFundMe post, they stated that Marion had ‘been through a rollercoaster of emotions these past weeks.
David Colbath was visited in hospital by Vice President Mike Pence after the shooting
‘He now has no money or home to add to many health issues and emotional stress over his recoverying son. Please help him get back on his feet to bring just a little normal back to his life. God Bless.’
His adult grandson Hank, who had just moved into his grandfather’s home in the 1200 block of Colzona Road, San Antonio, Texas, to be closer to his uncle David, said he has also lost his worldly possessions.
Firefighters report that the property actually caught fire twice, the first time at 3am and the second after 5am.
Both Colbath and Summers made it out without injury.
The blaze was reportedly caused by a cigarette which ignited a trash can fire in the bathroom.
David Colbath was one of the dozens injured when Devin Patrick Kelley walked into Sutherland Springs Baptist Church on November 5 and opened fire, killing 26 and injuring more than 20.
Hank Summers (pictured), who had just moved into his grandfather’s home in the 1200 block of Colzona Road, San Antonio, Texas, to be closer to his uncle David, said he has also lost his worldly possessions
He was shot five times and his sister Margaret Summers described his survival as a ‘miracle.’
‘We could be planning a funeral but we are not, we will celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas and birthdays and so much life that is yet to come. We are a truly blessed family,’ she wrote on Facebook after the incident.
On Wednesday, three thousand mourners filled an event center to capacity for the funeral of eight members of a family who were among the dozens killed in a shooting at a small Texas church.
Families of the victims accompanied black and white hearses in limousines on Wednesday as fire marshals and sheriff’s deputies shepherded hundreds more – some in funeral attire, others in everyday clothes – to the service in Floresville, Texas, about 12 miles from the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, where the shooting occurred.
Church member John Holcombe, among the massacre’s few survivors, invited the public to attend the funeral of his pregnant wife, Crystal, 36, and three of her children, Greg, 13, Emily, 11, and Megan, nine; his parents, 60-year-old Bryan and Karla Holcombe, 58; a brother, 36-year-old Marc Holcombe, and Marc’s 18-month-old daughter, Noah.