Texas church members gather for 1st time since attack

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (AP) — Hundreds of people are expected to worship with surviving members of the small Texas church where a shooting rampage left more than two dozen people dead.

Members of the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs will gather Sunday for a church service for the first time since a gunman burst into services a week earlier.

The attack was the worst mass shooting in Texas history.

Initial plans called for holding a service at a community center. But as many as 500 people are now expected, so the service will be held in a local baseball park.

Church representatives also plan to eventually open a public memorial inside the church, where empty chairs have been placed to represent the people killed.

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