Philippines expresses grief over Texas shooting, no Filipinos among 26 dead

November 6, 2017

The Philippines expressed grief over the deaths of 26 people who were massacred by a lone gunman while attending church services in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday.

“We are saddened by this unimaginable tragedy in San Antonio that took the lives of many innocent men, women, and children,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement released Monday by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“The Filipino people grieve with the families of the victims of this unfortunate incident,” Secretary Cayetano said as he also offered prayers for the speedy recovery of 20 other churchgoers who were reported wounded in the shooting.

The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles said none of the 7,400 Filipinos in San Antonio were reported to be among the dead and wounded in the incident that took place in the small town of Sutherland Springs outside San Antonio.

Consul General Adelio Angelito Cruz said a lone gunman walked inside the First Baptist Church past 11 a.m. and fired his rifle at people attending church services there. The gunman fled immediately after the incident and was later found dead with a gunshot wound inside his vehicle.

Authorities are still investigating the incident, which has been described as the largest mass shooting in Texas history. The San Antonio shooting came a little over a month after a lone gunman killed 58 people in Las Vegas. DMS