At least 26 people are dead and dozens are wounded after a man opened fire after walking into a Baptist church in the small Texas town of Sutherland Springs.

“There are 26 lives that have been lost.” Texas Governor Greg Abbott told a news conference.

“We don’t know if that number will rise or not, all we know is that’s too many, and this will be a long, suffering mourning for those in pain,” he said.

“We ask for God’s comfort, for God’s guidance and for God’s healing for all those who are suffering.”

"As a state we're dealing with the largest mass shooting in our state's history," Texas Gov. @GregAbbott_TX says. pic.twitter.com/TNZgs1YKGq

— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 5, 2017

The attack on the First Baptist Church some 60 kilometres outside San Antonio took place at 11.20am local time when a man identified as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley opened fire on the congregation.

According to US media reports, about 50 people usually attend the service.

Department of Public Safety regional director Freedman Martin said the shooter was dressed in all black and armed with an assault rife began firing at the church.

Mr Martin said the man moved to the side of the church and continued the fire, before entering the church and continuing the barrage. 

“As he exited, a local resident engaged him and he dropped his weapon,” he said.

“He fled from the church. The local citizen pursued the suspect at the time. A short time later, as law enforcement responded.”

Mr Martin said the chase ended when the gunman crashed and his dead body was found inside his vehicle.

“We don’t know if it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound or he was shot by a local resident,” he said. 

There was no indication of the gunman’s motive.

The AP quoted an investigator as saying Kelley lived in a suburb of San Antonio and he did not appear to be linked to organised terrorist groups.

He said investigators were looking at social media posts Kelley may have made in the days before the attack, including one that appeared to show an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon.

Mr Martin said the ages of the victims ranged from 5 -to 72-years-old.

Among those killed was the teenaged daughter of the Church’s pastor, Pastor Frank Pomeroy.

Mr Pomeroy’s wife Sherri said in a text message to the AP that she lost her daughter “and many friends” in the shooting.

Ms Pomeroy said she and her husband were out of town when the was attacked and were trying to return.

One witness, Carrie Matula, told NBC News: “We heard semi-automatic gunfire … we’re only about 50 yards away from this church.”

“This is a very small community, so everyone was very curious as to what was going on.”

San Antonio TV channel KSAT 12 reported that “neighbours saw a man in full gear go into the church, heard gunfire, never saw any victims come out”.

This is the scene of the shooting st the church pic.twitter.com/0sf1woffOl

— Max Massey (@MaxMasseyTV) November 5, 2017

Governor Greg Abbott released a statement soon after the attack saying: “While the details of this horrific act are still under investigation, [my wife] Cecilia and I want to send our sincerest thoughts and prayers to all those who have been affected by this evil act”.

‘Act of evil’: Trump

US President Donald Trump, who is in Japan on a 12-day tour of Asia,called the shooting an “act of evil” and “horrific”.

“This act of evil occurred as the victims and their families were in their place of sacred worship,” Mr Trump told a media conference.

“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 love,” he said.

The President did not go as far as to suggest any plans to take  legislative or other policy action to address the shooting.

He said that it is in “times such as these” that “Americans do what they do best”.

“We pull together. We join hands, we lock arms and through the tears and through the sadness we stand strong, oh so strong,” Trump said.

Pastor Paul Buford of River Oaks Church, also in Sutherland Springs, told KSAT 12 it was “a very small, close-knit community”.

“We were in the middle of our church service down the road when we got phone calls from friends about this – and they said there was an active shooter at First Baptist Church,” he said.

“We have some first responders in our church who immediately left and went down there. And then my church went to do what we do – we started praying… we knew the best thing we could do was stay out of the way.”

The Boston Globe produced figures showing that there had been 307 mass shootings in the US so far this year, with mass shootings defined as those involving four or more victims.

The ATF is sending special agents to the site of a church shooting in South Texas. https://t.co/mXGuMZWJ34 pic.twitter.com/FMrs1vRMbK

— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) November 5, 2017

– More to come