Texas Church Shooter Identified, Hero Describes Wild Chase After Suspect

[The 26 year old domestic terrorist, Devin Kelley was described by friends as an outcast in school that went into the military. He was discharged because of bad behavior in 2014. The man often spread his atheist views on Facebook.]

The deadliest shooting in Texas history could have claimed even more lives if it weren’t for a local resident who confronted the gunman, and another man who helped chase down the shooter.

As it stands 26 people have been confirmed dead and 20 more are seriously injured after the shooter opened fire inside First Baptist Church located in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

The resident, whose name has not yet been released, ran out of his house barefoot and exchanged gunfire with the shooter before the gunman sped away in a pearl-colored Ford Explorer. The armed resident then hailed a man across the street and got in his truck, telling him to chase down the gunman.

“I had to catch the guy. I had to make sure he was caught and at that point the gentleman riding with me said you may have to use your truck to get him off the road and there was no hesitation. It was do everything necessary to make sure that this guy is stopped,” the motorist, Johnnie Langendorff said.

At a news conference Sunday night, investigators offered a preliminary timeline of the attack at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs and laid out the role the resident played. Langendorff spoke to CNN on Monday.

The gunman Devin Kelley entered the small church in the rural town east of San Antonio, firing with an assault weapon at the congregation attending the morning service.

A local resident grabbed his own rifle and engaged the gunman, said Freeman Martin, the regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
“The suspect dropped his rifle, which was a Ruger AR assault-type rifle and fled from the church,” said Martin.

“What do you say to the man who stepped up when he heard the gunshots? I’d say he’s a hero,” Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt Jr. told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Monday. “I don’t think there’s any question about that. Had he not done what he did, we could have lost more people.”

He was just driving by

Langendorff said he was driving by the church on the way to his girlfriend’s house when he saw gunfire between the shooter and the armed resident.
Langendorff told CNN that both men had weapons drawn.

“There was exchange of gunfire. It lasted just a few seconds, and the shooter got in his vehicle and took off,” he said.

The armed resident opened Langendorff’s door, said the gunman shot up the church and urged the driver to step on it.

“We got to chase him,” the man said, according to Langendorff. He said he answered, “Let’s go.”

READ FULL STORY: CNN.com