Demolition begins at Sunderland Springs church site of 2017 mass shooting

Demolition began Monday at the Texas church that was the site of a mass shooting that killed more than two dozen worshippers in 2017 even after some families sought to preserve the scene of the deadliest church shooting in U.S. history.

Last month, state District Court Judge Russell Wilson cleared the way for the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs to tear down the sanctuary where the attack happened. Until now, it had been kept as a memorial that included the names of the people killed. Wilson's ruling came after some families in the community of fewer than 1,000 people filed a lawsuit hoping for a new vote on the building's fate. Church members voted in 2021 to tear it down.

A new church was completed for the congregation about a year and a half after the shooting.