Air Force ordered to pay $230 million to Sutherland Springs shooting survivors and families of slain
Air Force ordered to pay $230 million to Sutherland Springs shooting survivors and families of slain victims
by Emily Hernandez, Texas Tribune
The U.S. Air Force was ordered to pay more than $230 million to survivors and families of those killed in the 2017 mass shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, a federal judge ruled Monday evening.
Judge Xavier Rodriguez had previously found that the military branch was mostly at fault for the mass shooting because it did not report the gunmans previous assault conviction to the FBI, which could have prevented him from purchasing the assault rifle he used to kill 26 people.
In the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history, Devin Patrick Kelley opened fire on more than 450 attendees at the churchs Nov. 5, 2017, Sunday service, injuring 22 and killing 26. He died later that day from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after two men chased him out of the church with firearms of their own.
Kelley served in the Air Force for five years at the Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico before he was dismissed with a bad conduct discharge in 2014. Two years before he was discharged, a court found him guilty of assaulting his wife and stepson, which the Air Force never reported to the FBI.
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https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/07/sutherland-springs-shooting-air-force/