The First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, where 26 people were killed in a mass shooting on Nov. 5, will be demolished on a yet-to-be-determined date.
Pastor Frank Pomeroy, whose 14-year-old daughter Annabelle was killed in the shooting, told leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention it would be “too painful” to continue to worship in the church, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Pomeroy said he hopes to turn the site into a memorial for those who died in the shooting, and a new church will be built elsewhere on property owned by the church.
The Sutherland Springs mass shooting was the deadliest in Texas history, with a death toll of 26 and victims ranging in age from an unborn 8-month old fetus to a 77-year-old man.