$2.3 Million to Help Texas Church Shooting Survivors Recover

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — More than $2.3 million in grant funding has been allocated to provide long-term recovery services to survivors of the November 2017 mass shooting at a South Texas church that killed 25 people.

The massacre at the First Baptist Church of Southerland Springs also left an unborn child dead, bringing the official death toll to 26.

Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement Thursday that the money will go toward providing counseling and other mental health services to those suffering the traumatic effects of the shootings. It also will provide legal services to help survivors of those killed with probate, wills, estates and child custody rights.

The suspected gunman, Devin Patrick Kelley, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after being shot and chased by two residents as he left the church.

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