Air Force Had Six Chances To Alert FBI About Texas Church Gunman

Law enforcement officials gather near the First Baptist Church following a shooting on November 5, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas

After Devin Patrick Kelley shot and killed 26 people before taking his own life at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas last year, authorities wanted to know how he managed to legally purchase a gun despite being court-martialed from the Air Force for assaulting his wife and stepson. An investigation revealed the Air Force failed to notify the FBI of his conviction, which allowed him to pass the mandatory background check when he bought the gun he used in the church attack.

A new report from the Inspector General's Office shows that the Air Force had six different opportunities to alert the FBI of his actions. Had they followed through with filing just one of those reports, Kelley would have been barred from buying a gun. 

Investigators spoke with Kelley on four separate occasions between June 2011 and June 2012 and failed to send his fingerprints to the FBI. In one instance, Kelley admitted on video that he injured his stepson, but nobody relayed the information to the FBI.

After he was court-martialed, Air Force officials had two more opportunities to send the findings of the case to the FBI, but again failed to send over the paperwork.

The report blames the failure to report Kelley's actions on "insufficient" training by the investigative staff. 

"The investigators and confinement personnel had a duty to know, and should have known" they needed to submit the information the FBI and that their "failures had drastic consequences and should not have occurred."

The report also suggested that Kelley should have never been accepted into the Air Force in the first place due to a history of alleged criminal activity, including an incident that occurred days before he joined

The Air Force said they have already made changes in how cases are handled. They have also gone back through old cases to ensure that "all criminal history reporting requirements that would preclude someone from purchasing a firearm have been updated."

Photo: Getty Images


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