Washington, D.C.—Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) and U.S. Senator John Cornyn announced $183,717 in federal funds for victims of the shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. These funds, from Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, will be used to provide crisis response and consequence management support services to help victims continue to heal and cope with the effects of this day.

“Our South Texas community was rattled by the shooting in Sutherland Springs. Two years later this month, many survivors are still struggling from this tragedy,” said Congressman Cuellar. “These funds will go towards delivering support to the victims of this event. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue to ensure survivors have the necessary resources to address the harms they have suffered and to rebuild their lives. I want to thank Senator Cornyn for his help securing these critical funds for our community.”  

“No one should ever have to experience the tragedy that the entire Sutherland Springs community endured two years ago,” said Sen. Cornyn.  “I’m thankful to the Trump Administration and hopeful that this grant will help victims, survivors, and their friends and families continue to heal.”

On November 5, 2017 an armed gunman opened fire at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. This horrific event left 26 people dead and 20 injured, leaving a large community grieving. In response, Congressman Cuellar worked hard to secured $2.8 billion in funding for the Victims of Crime fund in the FY19 CJS Appropriations bill to ensure that communities, like Sutherland Springs, have the resources they need to support victims and their communities.

The Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP) grant comes from the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). These grants are intended to support victims and jurisdictions that have experienced incidents of terrorism or mass violence. These funds supplement the available resources and services of entities responding to acts of terrorism or mass violence.

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