The U.S. Justice Department has struck a tentative $144.5 million settlement with victims and relatives of people slain in the 2017 mass shooting at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, just southeast of San Antonio.
The DOJ and an attorney for the victims’ families announced the tentative deal Wednesday in separate statements. Justice Department officials said the settlement would resolve claims by more than 75 plaintiffs. Twenty-six people died in the shooting and 22 more were injured.
Shooting victims and their families sued the Air Force in 2018, arguing that its failure to report shooter Devin Patrick Kelley’s history of violence — including a domestic assault conviction — to the FBI’s background check system enabled him to buy guns he used in the shooting spree.
In a 2021 ruling, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in San Antonio said the Air Force was “60% responsible” for Kelley’s rampage at Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church. Rodriguez subsequently ordered the federal government to pay out $230 million to the victims and relatives, but the Justice Department filed an appeal.
In the wake of the appeal, gun control groups pressured the feds to drop to settle, arguing the legal wrangling was “retraumatizing” those caught up in the tragedy.
“No amount of money can undo the pain and suffering caused by this tragedy, but Brady is grateful that the government is taking responsibility for failing to uphold its obligations within the Brady Background Check system,” said Kris Brown, executive director of gun reform group Brady. “Put simply, a background check could have stopped the Sutherland Springs gunman.”
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This article appears in Apr 5-18, 2023.
