Two men have been praised for their 'heroics' in ending the mass shooting in Texas that left at least 27 dead.
Devin Kelley, 26, the man believed to be responsible for the worst mass shooting in Texas history, was leaving First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs after opening fire on the congregation, when he was confronted by Stephen Willeford, 55.
Advert
Watch one of the heroes describe what happened next in their own words, here:
Credit: ABC
Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Freeman Martin said Willeford, a local plumber and keen biker, 'grabbed his rifle and engaged the suspect'.
After Kelley was shot in his side by Willeford, the 26-year-old dropped his Ruger assault rifle and climbed in an SUV to flee the scene.
But another local resident, Johnnie Langendorff, who had witnessed the confrontation, refused to let the shooter get away. After the two men briefly discussed what had occurred, they jumped in Langendorff's truck and gave chase.
Langendorff later described the events to local reporters.
Willeford was one of the men who gave chase. Credit: Facebook
"I pulled up to the intersection where the shooting happened and I saw two men exchanging gunfire, the other being a citizen of the community," he said. "The shooter of the church had taken off, fled in his vehicle, and the other gentleman came and he said, 'We need to pursue him,' that he just shot up the church. So that's what I did. I just acted."
Langendorff said he hadn't seen his partner in the chase before, but knew he was from the area.
"I didn't know him at all," he explained. "He was just a member of the community, and whenever he came to my vehicle in distress with his weapon he explained very quickly what happened and he got in the truck and I knew it was just time [to go]."
Kelley had a head start, but they pursued him regardless.
"He got a little bit of a jump on us," Langendorff said, noting how they called police as they were chasing him.
Langendorff also assisted the chase. Credit: Facebook
"So we were doing about 95mph, going around traffic and everything," he added. "Eventually he came to kind of a slowdown and after that, we got within just a few feet of him and he got off the road...He just lost control and thats whenever i put the vehicle in park...The other gentleman jumped out and had his rifle drawn on him and he didn't move after that."
It took the police around five minutes to arrive on the scene, with Willeford keeping his gun on Kelley the entire time.
"The police arrived and they pushed us back and they took care of the rest," he said.
The cowboy-hat wearer said when he was chasing Kelley there was just one thing on his mind: "Try and get him."
"It was strictly just acting on what the right thing to do was," Langendorff said.
Featured Image Credit: FacebookTopics: hero, Texas, World News, News