Terror in a Texas church: Sutherland Springs shooting survivors recount massacre

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas – Two survivors of the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history have chilling accounts of what happened inside First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. 

A married couple said they were near the entrance of the church, and once the shooting started, they huddled together and prayed.

Joaquin Ramirez and his wife Rosanne Solis said they were still in the worship part of service when shots rang out from outside the church Sunday morning.

"All of a sudden I hear like, fire crackers popping, 'Tah, tah, tah,'" Solis said.

Then, a warning cry came from outside: "Everybody get down, they're shooting at us!"

Next, a storm of bullets began.

"Everybody started screaming, yelling. Everybody got down crawling under, I mean, wherever they could hide, I mean, it was so scary," Solis said. "And that man was shooting, I mean, he was shooting hard."

Solis was shot in the shoulder.

"I could feel the gunshots. I saw, I saw, I could see the gunshots because they have carpet in there. I could see the gunshots, you know, coming down," she said.

Ramirez and Solis said they saw people falling left and right with gunshot wounds, bloodied and in shock. They said they heard babies cry out.

Then, the shooting stopped, but only for a second.

"I thought it was the police when I saw the feet because everybody got real quiet," Solis said. "Everybody would say, 'Be quiet, be quiet, its' him, it's him.'"

Then they said the gun fire started again as the gunman yelled out, "Everybody dead, die, (explicative)!"

In the hail of gunfire and smoke, Ramirez crawled out to call for help, but not before seeing the gunman go aisle to aisle, looking for survivors.

Ramirez said he saw the gunman find the crying babies and shoot them point-blank. When the shooting ended, Ramirez and Solis said they could not believe the carnage.

"The Lord saved me because I know it was my last day," Ramirez said.

Solis suffered an injury to her arm. Ramirez was hit by shrapnel. They were both taken to a hospital and released.


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