Sutherland Springs Victims' Families Fighting Air Force Over Liability In 2017 Mass Shooting
The Air Force is on trial in a San Antonio federal courtroom. Families of the victims of the 2017 Sutherland Springs church mass shooting claim in a lawsuit that the Air Force failed to report the court martial and one-year confinement sentence of Devin Kelley to the national firearms database. After Kelley’s discharge in 2014, he was able to buy four guns, three of which he would use to kill more than two dozen people at the church in Sutherland Springs.
Guillermo Contreras covers federal courts for the San Antonio Express-News. He told Texas Standard that families accuse the Air Force of negligence. They say they are entitled to damages for wrongful death, pain and suffering, mental health damages and funeral costs.
Kelley was convicted of having assaulted his wife and stepson, but purchased the weapons despite his prison sentence and dishonorable discharge.
“When you’re convicted of certain crimes like a felony or a domestic violence misdemeanor, the police agency, normally, voluntarily – most do – report that to a set of databases run by the FBI called National Instant Criminal Background System,” Contreras said.
Read more: https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/sutherland-springs-victims-families-fighting-air-force-over-liability-in-2017-mass-shooting/