2017 — Nov 5, Mass Shooting, First Baptist Church, Sutherland Springs, TX — 26

— >26  CNN (Jason Hanna). “Sutherland Springs church shooting: What we know.” 11-6-2017.

— >26  NYT. “Texas Church Shooting Leaves at Least 26 Dead, Officials Say.” 11-5-2017.

—   26  Washington Post. “Texas church gunman escaped mental health facility…” 11-7-2017.

 

Narrative Information

 

Nov 5: “Sutherland Springs, Tex. — A gunman clad in all black, with a ballistic vest strapped to his chest and a military-style rifle in his hands, opened fire on parishioners at a Sunday service at a small Baptist church in rural Texas, killing at least 26 people and turning this tiny town east of San Antonio into the scene of the country’s newest mass horror.

 

“The gunman was identified as Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, according to two law enforcement officials… Mr. Kelley, who lived in New Braunfels, Tex., died shortly after the attack.

 

“He had served in the Air Force at a base in New Mexico, but was court-martialed in 2012 on charges of assaulting his wife and child. He was sentenced to 12 months’ confinement and received a “bad conduct” discharge in 2014, according to Ann Stefanek, the chief of Air Force media operations.

 

“The motive of the attack was unclear on Sunday, but the grisly nature of it could not have been clearer: Families gathered in pews, clutching Bibles and praying to the Lord, were murdered in cold blood on the spot.

 

“Mr. Kelley started firing at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs not long after the Sunday morning service began at 11 a.m., officials said. He was armed with a Ruger military-style rifle, and within minutes, many of those inside the small church were either dead or wounded. The victims ranged in age from 5 to 72, and among the dead were several children, a pregnant woman and the pastor’s 14-year-old daughter. It was the deadliest mass shooting in the state’s history. At least 20 more were wounded….

 

“Sheriff [Joe] Tackitt [Wilson County] and other officials said the gunman first stopped at a gas station across Highway 87 from the church. He drove across the street, got out of his car and began firing from the outside, moving to the right side of the church, the authorities said. Then he entered the building and kept firing….

 

“When Mr. Kelley emerged from the church, an armed neighbor exchanged gunfire with him, hitting Mr. Kelley, who fled in his vehicle. Neighbors apparently followed him, chasing him into the next county, Guadalupe County, where Mr. Kelley crashed his car. Mr. Kelley was found dead in his vehicle. Officials said it was unclear how Mr. Kelley had died.

 

“At the church, he left behind a scene of carnage. Of the 26 fatalities, 23 people were found dead inside the church, two were found outside and one died later at a hospital….

 

“The authorities said Mr. Kelley used an Ruger AR-15 variant — a knockoff of the standard service rifle carried by the American military for roughly half a century.

 

“Almost all AR-15 variants legally sold in the United States fire only semi-automatically, and were covered by the federal assault weapons ban that went into effect in 1994. Since the ban expired in 2004, the weapons have been legal to sell or possess in much of the United States and sales of AR-15s have surged. Ruger’s AR-15s made for civilian markets sell for about $500 to $900, depending on the model.

 

“Mr. Kelley grew up in New Braunfels, in his parents’ nearly $1 million home, and was married in 2014. He had been married at least once before, and was sued for divorce in 2012 in New Mexico, the same year he was court-martialed on charges of assaulting his wife and child….

 

“Sutherland Springs in Wilson County is about 34 miles east of downtown San Antonio….The unincorporated community has a population that numbers in the low hundreds — the 2000 census was 362….” (NYT. “Texas Church Shooting Leaves at Least 26 Dead, Officials Say.” 11-5-2017.)

 

Nov 6: “….How the attack unfolded….Eventually, as the gunman was leaving the church, a local resident armed himself with a rifle ‘and engaged’ the shooter, said Freeman Martin of the Texas Department of Public Safety…. the killer dropped his gun — a Ruger AR “assault-type rifle” — and fled with the resident in pursuit.

 

“The shooter drove north into neighboring Guadeloupe County, authorities said. Just across the county line, law enforcement officers found him dead inside his vehicle with a gunshot wound, Martin said.

 

“Wilson county Sheriff Joe Tackitt said it appears that the gunman suffered gunshot wounds from a civilian and then shot himself as well. Authorities are waiting for a coroner to determine which wound killed the gunman….

 

“Kelley was a former member of the US Air Force. He served in logistics readiness at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico starting in 2010, according to Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek. Kelley was charged in military court in 2012 on suspicion of assaulting his spouse and their child, Stefanek said. Kelley received a bad conduct discharge, confinement for 12 months, and was demoted to E-1, or airman basic, she said.

 

“Kelley purchased the gun he used, a Ruger AR-556 rifle, in April 2016 from an Academy Sports + Outdoors store in San Antonio, a law enforcement official told CNN. He listed an address in Colorado Springs, Colorado, when he bought the rifle, the official said. When Kelley filled out background-check paperwork at the store, he checked a box to indicate he didn’t have any disqualifying criminal history, the official said. There was no disqualifying information in his background check, a law enforcement official told CNN….” (CNN/Jason Hanna. “Sutherland Springs church shooting: What we know.” 11-6-2017.)

 

Sources

 

CNN (Jason Hanna). “Sutherland Springs church shooting: What we know.” 11-6-2017. Accessed 11-6-2017 at: http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/05/us/texas-church-shooting-what-we-know/index.html

 

New York Times (David Montgomery, Christopher Mele, Manny Fernandez). “Texas Church Shooting Leaves at Least 26 Dead, Officials Say.” 11-5-2017. Accessed 11-5-2017 at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/05/us/church-shooting-texas.html

 

Washington Post. “Texas church gunman escaped mental health facility in 2012 after threatening military superiors.” 11-7-2017. Accessed 11-8-2017 at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/11/07/as-texas-town-mourns-details-emerge-on-gunmans-methodical-tactics-in-church-massacre/?utm_term=.7d4b67eff06b