Less than a week before the deadliest church shooting in U.S. history, members of the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas gathered to celebrate the church’s annual Fall Festival.
A photo album posted to the church’s Facebook page shows several children dressed in Halloween costumes, while their parents and church volunteers mill around.
One photo shows a group of volunteers sitting near a table piled high with stuffed animals, baseball bats, dolls and other toys, under a sign marked “candy exchange for toys.” A young boy in a Robocop costume is looking on.
Outside on the church lawns, a bouncy castle and small petting zoo are seen. Near the parking lot, a man in a shark costume poses for a photo while holding a young girl, also wearing a shark costume, in his arms.
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A cursory scroll of the church’s Facebook page reveals a regular lineups of community events, including yard sales, fundraisers and musical nights.
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The church has long been a fixture in the Sutherland Springs area, home to less than 900 residents as per the 2010 U.S. Census.
The white-painted, single-storey structure features a small steeple and a single front door. Inside there is a small raised platform on which members sang worship songs to guitar music and the pastor delivered a weekly sermon, according to videos posted on YouTube.
In one of the clips, a few dozen people, including young children, can be seen sitting in the wooden pews.
But on Sunday, the church transformed from a place of prayers and smiles into the scene of pure horror and shock, after a gunman walked in and opened fire, killing more than 20 people, including children.
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Near the scene of the shooting, one woman told reporters that she might have been one of the victims herself had she not decided to skip church that day.
“There’s no words,” the woman told CBS News affiliate KENS. “This happens in New York, in big cities — no one’s safe… I mean if it can happen here guys, it can happen anywhere.”
— With files from Reuters
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