Thanks as always to Pirate’s Cove and The Other McCain for the Rule Five links.

It’s hard to stay upbeat this Monday morning, even given our recognition of the appreciation shown for our Rule Five totty.  It’s hard to be upbeat, given yet another mass shooting – this time in Texas.  Excerpt:

A man opened fire inside of a church in a small South Texas community on Sunday, killing more than 20 people and wounding at least 10 others before being killed or killing himself, authorities said.

The exact number of victims in the attack at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs wasn’t immediately known. But a law enforcement official who was briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press that more than 20 people were killed and between 10 and 15 others were wounded, though the official stressed that the investigation was in its early stages and the figures could change.

The official said the gunman fled in a vehicle after the attack and was killed, either by a self-inflicted wound or during a confrontation with police. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

Federal law enforcement swarmed the small community 30 miles southeast of San Antonio after the attack to offer assistance, including ATF investigators and members of the FBI’s evidence collection team.

Among those killed was the 14-year-old daughter of the church’s pastor, Frank Pomeroy, and his wife, Sherri. Sherri Pomeroy wrote in a text message to the AP that she and her husband were out of town in two different states when the attack occurred.

I’m no more religious than a cat, but it seems to me that a small Baptist church in south Texas has to be one of the most peaceful, inoffensive gatherings of people that you’re likely to find.  Why, then, would the shooter, one Devin Patrick Kelley, choose to attack this gathering?

It’s too soon to know.  The usual suspects will, of course, surface to blame anything and anyone but the shooter – guns, politics, religion, whatever their pet peeves may be.  The only person responsible is, of course, the shooter.  But what his motivation was remains to be seen – and that will take some investigative chops to determine, since the shooter was killed by police after a pursuit.

It’s a sad day, again.  Our hearts go out to that small town in Texas.