US President Donald Trump today denounced as an "act of evil" the Texas church shooting, but dismissed the need for gun control as he blamed "a very deranged individual" for the massacre that left 26 people dead.


A gunman, with a ballistic vest strapped to his chest and a military-style rifle in his hands, opened fire on worshippers at a Sunday service at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs in rural Texas.


Twenty six people were killed in the massacre. Trump, who is in Japan on the first leg of a 12-day Asia tour, said, "This horrible act of evil occurred as the victims and their families were in their place of sacred worship. We cannot put into words the pain and grief we all feel, and we cannot begin to imagine the suffering of those who lost the ones they loved." Texas Governor Greg Abbott told reporters that at least 26 people were killed in the mass shooting to date. -- PTI