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Resident Confronted Texas Church Shooter And Chased Him

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (CNN) - Were it not for a local resident who confronted the gunman, the deadliest shooting in Texas history could have claimed even more lives.

At a news conference Sunday night, investigators offered a preliminary timeline of the attack at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs and laid out the role the resident played.

The gunman entered the small church in the rural town east of San Antonio, firing with an assault weapon at the congregation attending the morning service.

At Least 20 People Killed 24 Injured After Mass Shooting At Texas Church
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, TX - NOVEMBER 5: Law enforcement officials gather near the First Baptist Church following a shooting on November 5, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas. At least 20 people were reportedly killed and 24 injured when a gunman, identified as Devin P. Kelley, 26, entered the church during a service and opened fire. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)

A man who lives next to the church grabbed his own rifle and engaged the gunman, said Freeman Martin, the regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

"The suspect dropped his rifle, which was a Ruger AR assault-type rifle and fled from the church," Martin said.

The man then chased the gunman, Martin said.

When police spotted the suspect's vehicle a short time later at the county line, they found the gunman inside -- dead of a bullet wound.

The shooting at the church claimed 26 lives. Twenty-three of the dead were found dead inside the church, officials said.

It's the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history -- and the fifth deadliest in modern US history.

(The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2017 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)

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