The U.S. Air Force says the man behind the mass shooting Sunday at a Texas church should never have been able to purchase the weapon used on Sunday.
(SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas) — The gunman who killed 26 people at a small-town Texas church had a history of domestic violence that spanned years before the attack, and was able buy weapons because the Air Force did not submit his criminal history to the FBI as required by military rules.
If the past offenses by Devin Patrick Kelley — who fired at least 450 rounds at helpless worshippers on Sunday morning — had been properly shared, they would have prevented him from buying a gun, the Air Force acknowledged Monday.
Investigators also revealed that Kelley had sent threatening text messages to his mother-in-law, a member of First Baptist, before the attack, and that sheriff’s deputies had responded to a domestic violence call in 2014 at his home involving a girlfriend who became his second wife.
Meanwhile, local churches are starting to rethink security for parishioners. Timothy Miller is the President of Lionheart International Services Group, which prepares churches for how to avoid tragedies like what happened near San Antonio, where 26 people were killed and more than 20 wounded. He’s also a retired federal agent and Director of Security at the nine area Christ Fellowship campuses. His call for local congregations of all sizes.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS 12) — The massacre at a Texas church is now shining the light on security at houses of worship. Churches from the across the country are reaching out for help in the wake of the tragedy.
Timothy Miller is the President of Lionheart International Services Group.
“We specialize in training churches and preparing churches for some of the violence we’re seeing,” he said.