Author: Paul J. Weber
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AP source: Texas shooter purchased AK rifle at private sale
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ODESSA, Texas • The gunman in a West Texas rampage that left seven dead obtained his AR-style rifle through a private sale, allowing him to evade a federal background check that previously blocked him from getting a gun, a law enforcement official said. The official spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of…
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Texas shooting suspect exchanged ‘a lot’ of fire with police
SANTA FE, Texas — The suspect accused of attacking a Texas high school exchanged “a lot of firepower” with authorities before he surrendered, a top county official said Saturday, a day after the shooting in an art classroom that killed 10 people. In addition to a shotgun and a handgun, Dmitrios Pagourtzis also had several…
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‘So many babies in there’: church shooting claims 8 children
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LA VERNIA, Texas — By the time Paul Brunner rolled up in his ambulance to the worst mass shooting in Texas history, the First Baptist Church was a chaotic triage scene. Parents cried and kids screamed, and nearly all the victims appeared to have been hit more than once. Two of the first four patients…
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Pastor: Texas church that was attacked will be demolished
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SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — The Texas church where more than two dozen people were killed by a gunman during Sunday services will be demolished, the pastor said. Pastor Frank Pomeroy told leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention earlier this week that it would be too painful to continue using First Baptist Church as a place…
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Carnage at small-town Texas church claimed 8 children
LA VERNIA, Texas — By the time Paul Brunner rolled up in his ambulance to the worst mass shooting in Texas history, the First Baptist Church was a chaotic triage scene. Parents cried and kids screamed, and nearly all the victims appeared to have been hit more than once. Two of the first four patients…
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Gunman checked each aisle, shot babies at point-blank range
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — The gunman who killed 26 people at a small-town Texas church went aisle to aisle looking for victims and shot crying babies at point-blank range, a couple who survived the attack said. Rosanne Solis and Joaquin Ramirez were sitting near the entrance to the First Baptist Church on Sunday when they…
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Texas church gunman once escaped from mental health center
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — The gunman who killed 26 people at a small-town Texas church was treated at a mental health center in New Mexico and briefly escaped in 2012, according to a police report. Devin Patrick Kelley was also caught trying to bring guns onto Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico when he…
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Church shooter sent mother-in-law threatening text messages prior to massacre
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SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — The gunman who killed 26 people at a small-town Texas church had a history of domestic violence and sent threatening text messages to his mother-in-law, a member of First Baptist, before the attack in which he fired at least 450 rounds at helpless worshippers, authorities said Monday. A day after the…
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Texas resort manager says church gunman was security guard
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NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — The gunman who opened fire on a Texas church recently began working as a security guard at a vacation resort near his home outside of San Antonio, a manager at the resort said Monday. Claudia Varjabedian told The Associated Press that Devin Kelley had been working at Summit Vacation Resort in…
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NTSB: Balloon crash pilot was as impaired as a drunk driver
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AUSTIN, Texas — The pilot in the deadliest hot air balloon crash in U.S. history was probably impaired by opioids and sedatives when he ignored weather warnings and flew the ride into a power line, investigators said Tuesday. Besides Valium and oxycodone, there was a high enough dosage of the over-the-counter antihistamine Benadryl in Alfred…