SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — Plans to tear down a small Texas church where a gunman in 2017 killed more than two dozen worshippers are drawing visitors as a last-minute push was made to stop the demolition. Leaders of First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs have not publicly announced when it plans to demolish the sanctuary, where authorities put the number of dead from the shooting at 26 people, including a pregnant woman and her unborn baby, in what remains the deadliest church shooting in U.S.
history. Inside the church Tuesday, victims' relatives and community members who came to see the memorial, possibly for the last time, sat on the floor in somber silence. Roses were placed in remembrance of the lives lost.
Roxanna Avants, 71, moved to Sutherland Springs after the shooting and said she came to support those who lost loved ones in the shooting. Avants said even if people don't want to walk past a reminder of a tragedy, the church is still a house of God and a memorial for those who died in 2017. Outside the church, the Wilson County Sheriff's Office told journalists to leave the area, saying neighbors had made the request for reasons related to private property.
News cameras were not allowed in the church or parking lot. On Tuesday, a Texas judge approved a temporary restraining order sought by some families to delay the demolition. The order signed by Judge Jennifer Dillingham instructs the church to not to begin demolition and to appear before the court later thi.
