(CNN) US leaders reacted with horror and sorrow to the mass shooting Sunday at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, with some calling for action on gun control as the death toll mounted.

President Donald Trump decried the shooting as an "act of evil" and called it "horrific" in his first public remarks since a gunman killed 26 people in the Texas church.

"This 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 love," Trump said from Tokyo, where he is traveling on a trip through Asia.

Trump said his "thoughts and prayers" are with the victims and their families, but he did not suggest plans to take any legislative or other policy action to address the shooting.

Sunday's shooting happened in the late morning during Sunday service , causing a flood of lawmakers from across the country to offer their condolences and statements about gun violence in America.