Texas church shooting: US Air Force error helped gunman in buying weapons

In a dastardly attack in Texas church shooting, which saw 26 people getting killed, the gunman was involved in a domestic dispute with his in-laws and had been sending threatening messages to his wife’s mother before the massacre, officials said on Monday.

The killer, Devin Kelley, 26, was previously convicted by court-martial of assaulting his first wife and step-son while serving in the U.S. Air Force and spent a year in detention before his bad-conduct discharge in 2014, according to the Pentagon.

The Air Force acknowledged on Monday that it failed to enter Kelley’s 2012 domestic violence offense into a U.S. government database used by licensed gun dealers for conducting background checks on firearms purchasers, reported Reuters. A sporting goods retail chain has said Kelley had passed background checks while buying guns and weapons when he bought a gun in 2016 and a second firearm the following year.

Details about Kelley’s background of violent, disturbing behaviour emerged a day after Sunday’s rampage in south-eastern Texas, which saw a violent crime that took many innocent lives and has put America’s internal security in serious doubt. Kelley was found dead, apparently of gunshot wounds, after a failed attempt to make his getaway from the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, authorities said.

Stepping out of the church, Kelley was confronted and shot three times by an armed area resident. Kelley then fled in a sport utility vehicle as the resident waved down a passing motorist. The two good Samaritans then chased after the suspect at high speeds, authorities said.

Also read: Texas church shooting: Death toll rises to 27, shooter identified

Kelley called his father during the pursuit to say he had been shot and might not survive, officials said. He later crashed his vehicle, shot himself and died, they added. It was not clear if he died of the self-inflicted wound or those sustained in the gunfight, officials said. Kelley was wearing a black bullet-proof vest and skull mask, Kelley used a Ruder AR-556 semi-automatic rifle in the attack, authorities said. They recovered two other weapons, both handguns, from his vehicle.

The Texas attack has seen bipartisan support with both Republicans and Democrats coming together to condemn the act and this latest attack raises question about gun control and possession of weapons in America and in recent past many people have lost their lives due to violent crimes and act committed by anti-social elements.