TWENTY SIX killed in Texas church shooting

Last updated: November 6, 2017 at 8:53 am

A Texas church shooting during Sunday service has left at least 26 dead and injured 20 more.

The youngest victim was aged five, with the oldest 72 years old. At least 10 of the victims are believed to have been children.

Texas Governor Greg Abbot said it was the worst mass shooting in the history of the state.

The motive behind the incident, which struck a small town in Wilson County, are not yet known.

The suspected attacker was found dead only miles away.

The latest information from Texas officials is that the suspect, who is understood to have been wearing all black clothing and a bulletproof vest, opened fire outside the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.

The shooting began at 11.30am local time, and the attacker made his way inside the church soon after first shots were fired.

As he fled the scene, the citizen pursued the suspect – who drove off the road and crashed his car.

Police have confirmed that they found the man dead, although at this stage it isn't clear if he killed himself.

The gunman has not been officially named, although some US media outlets are reporting him as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley.

President Donald Trump is currently overseas in Asia, but his comments on the tragedy stressed that guns were not to blame for the shooting.

Instead he labelled the gunman as "a very deranged individual".

"We have a lot of mental health problems in our country, but this isn't a guns situation," he said.