Thousands mourn 8 members of family killed in Texas

Associated Press

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas

Three thousand people Wednesday mourned eight members of a family who were among the more than two dozen killed in a shooting at a small Texas church before the funeral procession headed to a cemetery near the site of the massacre.

Surrounding the multicolored coffins, mourners released pink and blue balloons at a graveside service for the Holcombe family in rural Wilson County.

Church member and survivor John Holcombe had invited the public to attend the funeral of his pregnant wife, Crystal, 36, and three of her children from a previous marriage, Greg Hill, 13, Emily Hill, 11, and Megan Hill, 9; his parents, 60-year-old Bryan and Karla Holcombe, 58; a brother, 36-year-old Marc Holcombe, and Marc’s 18-month-old daughter, Noah.

Fire marshals had to turn hundreds more people away from the services at an events center in Floresville, Texas, about 12 miles from the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, where the Nov. 5 shooting occurred.