Judge Pauses Demolition Of Texas Church, Site of Mass Shooting

texas mass shooting - First Baptist Church In Sutherland Springs Texas

Source: The Washington Post / Getty

Demolition at a small Texas church, the site of a mass shooting, has been halted. Back in 2017, a gunman killed more than two dozen worshippers during a service.

Leaders of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs did not share when they plan to tear down the sanctuary, but they will have to wait to make any further moves. On July 2, a Texas judge approved a temporary restraining order sought by some families of the 26 people who died to delay the demolition.

The church has not commented on the delay. After the 2017 shooting, the sanctuary was transformed into a memorial. The interior was painted white and chairs were placed inside with the names of those who were killed. The church voted in 2021 to tear down the building, but opponents said any demolition is against the wishes of surviving family members.

“We’re not after money. We’re after what’s fair,” Sam Fugate II, an attorney for the families, said. “We want our clients to say their peace about whether the church should stand and take another vote.”

Amber Hodler, a church member, is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. She said she wants to make sure survivors of the shooting and surviving family members of victims have a say in the demolition debate.

“So many victims’ families were told: ‘You’re not allowed to vote because you’re no longer a member here,’” Holder said.

A new church has been completed for the congregation. It was erected about a year and a half after what remains the deadliest church shooting in U.S. history. Plans to demolish the original church spread in the community and according to Terrie Smith, the president of the Sutherland Springs Community Association, people are “devastated.” She said the memorial deserves to remain.

“It’s just a beautiful, beautiful memorial the way it is now,” she said. “You feel the comfort of everybody that was lost there.”

According to the order from the judge, church leaders must appear in court later this month about the halted demolition. An exact date of appearance has not been given.

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