Advertisement

Here are the victims of the Sutherland Springs shooting

At least 26 people were killed in Texas' worst mass shooting.

Pastor Frank Pomeroy and his wife Sherri join a news conference near the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Monday, Nov. 6, 2017, in Sutherland Springs, Texas. CREDIT: AP Photo/Eric Gay
Pastor Frank Pomeroy and his wife Sherri join a news conference near the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Monday, Nov. 6, 2017, in Sutherland Springs, Texas. CREDIT: AP Photo/Eric Gay

On Sunday morning, 26-year-old suspected gunman Devin P. Kelley walked into a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas and opened fire, killing 26 people and injuring at least 20 others. Kelley was later found dead after attempting to flee the scene in his car, according to police. Authorities said it appeared Kelley may have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

His victims ranged in age from just 18 months old to 77 years, law enforcement said Monday. Police indicated that as many as 14 of them may have been children. Some families lost multiple members, as many people were attending service with their parents, spouses, children, and grandchildren. Gov. Greg Abbott called it the largest mass shooting in Texas state history.

As of Wednesday afternoon, all of the victims have been identified. Here are their stories.

Peggy Warden

via News 4 San Antonio
via News 4 San Antonio

Peggy Warden, 56, was killed in the church she had dedicated much of her life working for.

“My sister spent her whole life working at the church,” her brother told the NBC affiliate in San Antonio. “It was always her goal to serve and teach children the word of God. There was nothing she would have rather done. And she served people basically her whole life.”

Advertisement

Warden died shielding her 18-year-old grandson, Zachary Poston, from the bullets. He is in the hospital, but he survived because of Warden.

“Peggy stepped in front of Zachary as a shield and was fatally wounded,” a GoFundMe page set up to pay for Zachary’s medical expenses says. “(She is our hero.) She saved Zachary’s life.”

Keith Braden

via Facebook
via Facebook

Braden, 62, was a cancer survivor. His family confirmed he had been killed in the massacre to local media Wednesday.

Keith’s brother Bruce Braden described Keith to The Dallas Morning News “a good father, good grandfather, good brother.”

Advertisement

Keith was also a veteran, and he worked at a local grocery store before he was killed. His wife, Debbie, and granddaughter were both shot Sunday, as well, though they survived and Bruce told local outlets he is hopeful they both will recover fully.

“He was hoping to have a nice number of years left to live with his family,” Bruce told the Indy Star of his brother. “That was taken away in an instant.”

R. Scott and Karen Marshall

via People Courtesy Holly Hannum
via People Courtesy Holly Hannum

R. Scott, 56, and his wife, Karen, 57, were killed attending church together Sunday. They met more than 32 years ago while they were both serving in the military, R. Scott’s sister told People Magazine.

“They lasted,” Holly Hannum, his sister, told the magazine. “They had kids, they travelled — they had a love that lasted over time.”

Hannum added that their faith was strong and that she’s holding onto her own faith in the wake of their deaths.

According to local media, it was the first time they had attended the church where they were ultimately killed.

Tara McNulty

via GoFundMe
via GoFundMe

Tara McNulty was a close family friend of the Holcombe family, which lost eight members across three generations in the shooting. On a GoFundMe page a friend describes McNulty as their “Like-Family Best Friend.”

Advertisement

McNulty’s children were wounded in the shooting but survived, according to another page created specifically in McNulty’s memory.

“Tara was a great employee,” Amy Woodall, who set up the page, wrote. “She was conscientious, engaging, and always willing to do the little things. She was a sweet, kind and loving woman, mother and daughter and will be greatly missed by many.”

Robert and Shani Corrigan

via MNEM
via MNEM

High school sweethearts Robert and Shani Corrigan were killed attending church together Sunday. They had a large family, including four grandchildren and two sons who currently serve in the military, according to local media.

Robert was retired from the Air Force and his high school said in a statement confirming his death that he held the track record for years. A vigil for the couple was held in a local park Monday night.

“He was beautiful and he was full of happiness,” Jean Ann Corrigan, Robert’s mom, told a local outlet. He said she is confident the couple is at peace.

Dennis and Sara Johnson

Via People Courtesy Johnson Family
Via People Courtesy Johnson Family

Dennis, 77, and his wife, Sarah, 68, were killed in the shooting, their family confirmed to The Washington Post, but they declined to comment further.

Dennis’s sister-in-law Tawnya Roberts Spence wrote in a Facebook post that Dennis and Sara had “perished together inside the church.”

“It’s still very hard to believe that such a thoughtless crime has happened like this,” Spence wrote. “My heart is broken.”

Haley Krueger

via GoFundMe
via GoFundMe

Haley Krueger, 16, loved babies and dreamed of being a NICU nurse, a family friend wrote on a GoFundMe page set up Monday.

“Haley Krueger was a beautiful, vibrant, 16 year old girl, and was excited about the bright future ahead of her,” Tasha Niemann Wiatrek, who set up the GoFundMe page, wrote. She added that Kruger’s mother, Charlene Uhl, said her daughter loved life and was “the most dramatic person.”

Uhl told People Magazine that her daughter’s death comes just two years after her father’s sudden death.

“She was always hyper and ready for anything,” Uhl said. “I already miss her so much.”

Richard and Therese Rodriguez

Courtesy Rodriguez Family via People
Courtesy Rodriguez Family via People

Richard, 64, and his wife Therese, 66, were killed in the shooting, Richard’s daughter Regina Amador has confirmed to several outlets. The two married in 2006, and her daughter told People Magazine that they were very involved the church.

“If they were not at church, they’d be in the backyard, working on a garden,” Amador told People. “They were amazing people.” Amador told CNN her father loved music and 80’s movies, and that the couple often helped her with her children, sometimes taking them to church with them.

“The oldest ones, they’re the ones that are taking it hard,” Amador told CNN. “Especially my Justin — he really looked up to my dad … just waiting for my dad to pull up when he would come on the weekends.”

Lula Woiconski White

via Facebook
via Facebook

Lula Woiconski White, 71, was the shooter’s grandmother-in-law. A relative of White’s confirmed her death to the New York Daily News Monday. Her sister, Mary Mishler Clyburn, told the news her sister was a “wonderful, caring person — a God-loving person.”

“I miss her badly already. We texted every day,” Clyburn told the News. We loved each other to the moon and back.” She declined to speak about Kelley’s relationship with White.

Before the shooting, police say Kelley was involved in a “domestic situation” and that he had sent “threatening texts” to his mother-in-law, White’s daughter, Michelle Shields, before the shooting.

“The whole family is very devastated. This is not something we ever expected. It’s just, I don’t know how to put it into words. They’re hurting a lot. The whole family is hurting a lot,” Clyburn told the News. I don’t know where we’re going from here. We’re going to have to take one day at a time.”

Joann Ward, Brooke Ward, and Emily Garza

Joann Ward was attending church on Sunday when she and two of her daughters, Brooke Ward, 5, and Emily Garza, 7, were killed. Their deaths were confirmed to The Dallas Morning News late Sunday.

Sandy Ward, Brooke and Emily’s grandmother, told MSNBC Emily was “a sweet little girl.” At the time, she said she was still waiting for news about Brooke.

Brooke and Emily, center, via GoFundMe
Brooke and Emily, center, via GoFundMe

“She was just such a good little girl. She was so helpful. She would help. Anything you asked her to do, she was always happy and cheerful,” the grandmother said on MSNBC.

Brooke Ward, via GoFundMe
Brooke Ward, via GoFundMe

Joann had four children, all of whom were with her at church. One of her daughters survived, and her son, Ryland Ward, 5, was also shot, but survived and was rushed to surgery. As of Monday morning, Ryland was in stable condition, according to his aunt who spoke to The Dallas Morning News.

“Joann was such a wonderful mother whose whole life was her children and family,” Joann’s uncle, John Alexander, wrote on Facebook Monday morning. “My heart is broken.”

Joann Ward, via GoFundMe
Joann Ward, via GoFundMe

Alexander also set up a GoFundMe to cover funeral and medical costs for the family. “Joann was the most wonderful mom any child could wish for and her children were always laughing and loving life,” he wrote on the fundraising page.

Annabelle Pomeroy

via Facebook
via Facebook

Annabelle Pomeroy, 14, was the daughter of the church’s pastor, Frank Pomeroy. Her parents were out of town, her mother Sherri Pomeroy told the AP. They were driving back to Sutherland Springs from Oklahoma, according to ABC.

“Heaven truly gained a real beautiful angel this morning,” Annabelle’s uncle Scott Pomeroy wrote on Facebook Sunday.

Her father told ABC that his daughter was one “very beautiful, special child.” She was his youngest daughter.

Karla, Bryan, Chrystal, Emily, Meghan, Greg, Marc Daniel, and Noah Holcombe

Sunday’s shooting took members of three generations from one local family. Eight members of the Holcombe family, one of whom was also eight months pregnant, were killed when Kelley opened fire on the rows of pews inside the First Baptist Church.

Karla and Bryan Holcombe had been married for about 40 years and were attending church with their children and grandchildren  when they were killed.

Via the Post, courtesy of the Holcombe family
Via the Post, courtesy of the Holcombe family

“They were really loving people,” Jenna Brown, a friend of the Holcombes, told The Daily Beast. “They really were loving people. They were about as close to a true life of Christ as you could get.”

Bryan was preaching when he was shot and killed. Karla taught Sunday school at the church. They were high school sweethearts.

via the Brown family
via the Brown family

Joe Holcombe, Bryan’s father, told The Washington Post that his son was born to be a preacher, and that Bryan’s first word was “God” and his first sentence was “See the light.” A family member also told the Associated Press that Bryan would often play the ukulele and sing for prison inmates.

Their daughter-in-law, Chrystal Holcombe — a mother of five who was eight months pregnant — was also killed. Three of her five children, Emily, Megan, and Greg, were also killed in the shooting. Chrystal’s husband, John (who was Bryan and Karla’s son), survived the shooting.

Chrystal was homeschooling her five children and had recently posted on Facebook about her children’s success in a 4H show and food challenge.

“They’ve worked hard and learned so much,” she wrote. “I’m very proud of them!”

Days prior, she had also posted pictures of a Halloween party at First Baptist Church.

Chrystal’s brother-in-law and Bryan and Karla’s son, Marc Daniel Holcombe, 36, was also killed, as was his daughter Noah Holcombe, who was only a year old.

“It’s of course going to be difficult,” Joe Holcombe, Bryan’s father, told The Washington Post. But, he added, “We are Christians. We have read the end of the book. We know the ending, and it’s good.”

This story will be updated as more details are released.