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Official says more than 20 dead in church attack

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SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (AP) - The Latest on a shooting at a church in Texas (all times local):

2:35 p.m.

President Donald Trump has tweeted from Japan that he is monitoring the situation in Texas following a mass shooting at a church.

Trump tweeted: "May God be w/ the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas." He added that the FBI is on the scene.

Trump is in Japan as part of a 12-day, five-country Asian trip.

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2:25 p.m.

A spokeswoman says the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is sending special agents from field offices in Houston and San Antonio to the site of a church shooting in South Texas.

ATF spokeswoman Mary Markos did not immediately have further details.

A sheriff says that a man walked into the church and started firing. Authorities say the attacker is dead.

The number of fatalities or injuries hasn't been confirmed by authorities, but a Wilson County commissioner, Albert Gamez, has told cable news outlets that he was told it was more than 20 killed and 20 wounded, though those figures aren't confirmed.

One hospital about 10 miles from the shooting says there "multiple" victims with gunshot wounds are being treated.

Connally Memorial Medical Center spokeswoman Megan Posey declined to say how many patients were being treated at the hospital, but said the number was less than a dozen. The hospital is in Floresville, Texas.

2:15 p.m.

A County Commissioner in Texas says he's been told that more than 20 people were killed and more than 20 were wounded in an attack at a church, though he says those figures haven't been confirmed.

Albert Gamez, a Wilson County commissioner, made the comments to cable news outlets after the attack Sunday at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, a small community 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.

A sheriff says that a man walked into the church and started firing. Authorities say the attacker is dead.

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1:20 p.m.

A sheriff says a man walked into a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and started shooting, leaving multiple people dead.

The Wilson County News reports that Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt said the shooter has been taken down. It wasn't immediately known how many people were killed and wounded or who carried out the attack.

First responders converged on the church in the small town southeast of San Antonio and helicopters are taking victims to hospitals.

Sutherland Springs is a community of about 400 people 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio.

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1 p.m.

Local news outlets report that several people have been shot at a Baptist Church in South Texas.

Television stations KSAT and KENS report that there are multiple victims and that there is a large police presence at the church in Sutherland Springs, which is 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio.

KSAT reports that two Airlife helicopters are also at the scene.

A sheriff's department dispatcher says everyone is at the scene and unavailable to comment.

KSAT has video of several fire and police vehicles at the church and a photo of a helicopter that the station says was arriving to take victims to hospitals.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

11/5/2017 3:43:13 PM (GMT -5:00)