(3 Jul 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sutherland Springs, Texas – 2 July 2024
1. Wide of church exterior
2. SOUNDBITE (English)Terri Smith, community member:
"It’s very heartbreaking to know that they want to tear down the church. The church is a beautiful sanctuary. And this is where all of us go when we’re missing our loved ones. We feel their spirits in there. This church has been here for a very long time, and we all strongly feel that the church protected everybody in there."
3. Various exteriors of church
4. SOUNDBITE (English)Terri Smith, community member:
"I’m saddened that they didn’t reach out to the community or to the families or to the survivors that don’t attend that church anymore. But this is very heart broken for all of us."
5. Exterior of church
6. SOUNDBITE (English)Terri Smith, community member:
"There’s many memorials around here with their names on them, here in Floresville. But the feeling that you get, and I feel strongly that that’s what it’s going to turn into, is just another plaque with their name on it."
7. Exterior of church
STORYLINE:
Plans to tear down a small Texas church where a gunman in 2017 killed more than two dozen worshippers brought visitors Tuesday back to the rural sanctuary amid a last-minute push by some families 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 child in what remains the deadliest church shooting in U.S. history.
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 not to begin demolition and appear before the court later this month.
But Sam Fugate II, an attorney for the families that sought the restraining order, said the church had still not been served the order as of Tuesday afternoon and expressed concern that the demolition could still proceed.
Christine Earnhardt, a secretary for the church, said Tuesday that she could not confirm whether a demolition was scheduled and that the church had no plans to comment or make a statement.
Following the shooting, the sanctuary was turned into a memorial. The church then voted in 2021 to tear down the building, which opponents have contended was against the wishes of many surviving family members.
AP video by Lekan Oyenkami
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