US president Donald Trump on Monday said the Texas shooting that killed 26 people was a "mental health problem at the highest level" and that guns were not to blame.
"We have a lot of mental health problems in our country, but this isn't a gun situation," he said, describing the gunman as "deranged".
At least 26 people died when a gunman dressed all in black and wearing body amour launched a bloody assault on a Baptist church in Texas, opening fire from outside its neat, white walls before walking inside.
In just a few minutes the man, later identified as 26-year-old Devin Kelley, brought the plague of gun violence to small-town America, cutting down half of a congregation in a small, tight-knit community.
Officials said the victims ranged in age from five to 72.
President Donald Trump denounced the killings as “an act of evil” and said he was being kept up to date with developments as he toured Asia.
The attack in Sutherland Springs only came to an end when a neighbour, alerted by the sound of gunfire, raced to the scene and engaged the suspect with his own rifle, according to a version of events described by Freeman Martin, of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The shooter dropped a Ruger assault rifle at the scene and drove away. His escape ended at the county line.
“He ran off the roadway and crashed. He was found deceased in his vehicle,” said Mr Martin, who added it was not clear whether he died from a gunshot wound inflicted by the pursuer or some other cause.
Locals rushed to the First Baptist Church fearing the worst in a town of fewer than 400 people, where everybody knows each other. Some joined hands and prayed as emergency services went about their work, recovering bodies from inside and outside the church and taking the wounded to hospital.
As details began circulating of the dead or wounded, a picture emerged of a congregation made up of families.
Sherri Pomeroy, the wife of the church’s pastor, said their daughter was killed while she and her husband were out of town for the weekend.
“We lost our 14-year-old daughter today and many friends," she said. "Neither of us have made it back into town yet to personally see the devastation."
A six-year-old boy was shot four times and was last night undergoing emergency surgery.
Albert Gamez, Wilson County commissioner, told CNN: “My heart is broken. We never think where it can happen, and it does happen. It doesn't matter where you're at. In a small community, real quiet and everything, and look at this, what can happen.”
The shock swept through a town in rural south-east Texas that comprises little more than a post office, a dollar store and two churches.
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