The teenage daughter of the pastor of the Texan church where a gunman shot dead more than 20 people is among the dead.
Sherri Pomeroy, wife of Pastor Frank Pomeroy, said in a text message to the AP that she lost her daughter "and many friends" in the Sunday shooting.
Ms Pomeroy says both she and her husband were out of town when the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, outside of San Antonio, was attacked and were trying to return.
Annabelle Renee Pomeroy "was one very beautiful, special child," her father said.
Of the victims, 23 died inside the church, two were found deceased outside and one transported to a hospital died.
Up to 20 people were transported to hospitals in San Antonio with injuries ranging from minor to severe. The ages of the victims range from five-years-old to 72.
Other victims included a six-year-old boy named Rylan who was in surgery after being shot four times, his uncle told CBS News. A two-year-old was also shot and wounded, The Dallas Morning News reported.
A spokeswoman for Connally Memorial Medical Center in nearby Floresville said the hospital received eight patients with gunshot wounds. Four were transferred to San Antonio.
Suspect was former air force
The gunman, widely identified as Devin Kelley, 26, was described by authorities as a young white male who was found dead in his vehicle after being confronted by a local resident.
The Air Force said Kelley served at a base in New Mexico starting in 2010 before being court-martialed in 2012 for allegedly assaulting his wife and child.
He was sentenced to 12 months in confinement and received a "bad conduct" discharge, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told AFP. He was discharged in 2014.
Dressed all in black, Kelley fired outside the church before entering the building and continuing to spray bullets, Freeman Martin, regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said.
"As he exited the church, a local resident grabbed his rifle and engaged that suspect. The suspect dropped his rifle, which was a Ruger AR assault-type rifle, and fled from the church. Our local citizen pursued the suspect at that time," Mr Martin said.
Law enforcement later found Kelley dead in his car, which had crashed on the Wilson-Guadalupe county line. It was not clear if he had killed himself or was shot by the resident who had confronted him.
Multiple weapons
Multiple weapons were found in the car, which was processed by bomb technicians.
"We have multiple, multiple crime scenes. We have the church, outside the church. We have where the suspect's vehicle was located," Mr Martin said.
"We have been following up on the suspect and where he's from. We have Texas Rangers at all the hospitals locating those and interviewing those who were injured."
"There's so many families who have lost family members. Fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters," Governor Greg Abbott said, warning the toll could rise.
"The tragedy, of course, is worsened by the fact that it occurred in a church, a place of worship, where these people were innocently gunned down. We mourn their loss, but we support their family members."
The wounded had been transported to various hospitals with "injuries that vary from minor to very severe," Mr Martin said.
Trump vows 'full support'
Police formed a perimeter around the area while tearful relatives and neighbors stood outside, nervously awaiting news from inside the traditional white-frame church.
Agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were headed to Sutherland Springs, the agencies said.
Mr Trump called the "horrific shooting" an "act of evil", ordering flags be flown half-staff at the White House and federal buildings.
"Our hearts are broken but in dark times - and these are dark times - such as these, Americans do what they do best: we pull together," he said.
Though he said "it's a little bit soon to go into it" regarding renewed calls for gun control, the president promised his administration's "full support" for the investigation.
As with many other previous shootings, Democrats pointed to the latest tragedy to highlight the need for gun control, a hot-button issue in a country that holds the right to bear arms as almost sacred.
The shooting comes just over a month after a gunman in Las Vegas fired down from a hotel room on to an outdoor concert, killing 58 people and wounding hundreds. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
A little more than two years ago, white supremacist Dylann Roof entered a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, and shot nine people to death.
