A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Air Force to pay more than $230 million to survivors and families of those slain in the Sutherland Springs mass shooting, which took place a half hour from San Antonio, the Associated Press reports.
Judge Xavier Rodriguez’s order, issued Tuesday, follows his ruling from last summer that the Air Force bore primary fault for the shooting because it failed to report details of the gunman’s criminal record to an FBI database that would have barred him from buying firearms.
In November 2017, Devin Patrick Kelley fired on worshipers inside First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, killing 26 and wounding 22 in what’s considered the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history. He died shortly after from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In 2012, the Air Force court-martialed Kelley and sentenced to a year’s confinement for assaulting his wife and stepson. He was discharged two years later for bad conduct. However, the service never entered Kelley’s conviction into the database firearms sellers are required to check during purchases.
A Defense Department investigation released in November found the Air Force failed six times to report information that may have prevented Kelley from purchasing the weapon he used in the shooting.
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This article appears in Jan 26 – Feb 8, 2022.