President Donald Trump asked for God to be with the people of a small Texas town outside of San Antonio after a shooting at a local church killed at least 20 people.
A gunman opened fire inside First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs and then attempted to flee after the shootings. A local newspaper, The Wilson County News, reported that County Sheriff Joe Tackett said the shooter had been "taken down," but further information was not available.
The exact number of dead is not clear, but multiple reports indicated that at least 20 people were slain. The San Antonio Express-News reported the death toll as 28.
Albert Gamez, a county commissioner in Texas, said he’s been told that more than 20 people were killed and more than 20 were wounded in the attack at a church, though he said those figures haven’t been confirmed.
Those figures were echoed by another local official. "I would say it's up there around 20-plus, I'm not sure," Wilson County Commissioner Paul Pheil said of the number of deceased, as quoted by the San Antonio Express-News.
CNN reported that one of the victims was the 14-year-old daughter of the church's pastor.
"May God be w/ the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas," the president wrote on Twitter. "The FBI & law enforcement are on the scene. I am monitoring the situation from Japan."
The president is in the early part of his 13-day trip to Asia.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn and fellow Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also expressed their sympathies on Twitter
"Keeping all harmed in Sutherland Springs in our prayers and grateful for our brave first responders on the scene," Cruz wrote.
"Please say a prayer for First Baptist congregation, first responders & the community there," Cornyn added.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that the "horrific" and "evil" act was under investigation. The state's attorney general, Ken Paxton, pointed out on CNN that shooting occurred eight years to the day of the Nov. 9, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood where U.S. Army major Nidal Hasan, a U.S. Army major, fatally shot 13 people and injured more than 30 others.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez and other political figures also expressed their condolences.
A spokeswoman said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was sending special agents from field offices in Houston and San Antonio to the site.
Sutherland Springs is in a rural corner of South Texas. The area is known for its annual peanut festival in nearby Floresville, which was most recently held last month.
“We’re shocked. Shocked and dismayed,” said state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Laredo Democrat whose district includes Sutherland Springs. “It’s especially shocking when it’s such a small, serene area. These rural areas, they are so beautiful and so loving.”