Gunman sent hostile text messages before attack
The gunman who killed 26 people at a smalltown Texas church sent threatening text messages to his mother-in-law before the attack, which appeared to have been driven by domestic tensions, authorities said Monday.
A day after the deadliest mass shooting in state history, investigators also revealed that the shooter had been confronted about domestic violence at least twice in the last five years, including an assault on his exwife and a child that ended his Air Force career and another report of violence against a girlfriend who became his second wife.
In the tiny community of Sutherland Springs, population 400, grieving townspeople were reeling from their losses. The dead ranged from 18 months to 77 years old and included multiple members of some families. The attack appeared to stem from a domestic situation and was not racially or religiously motivated, Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Freeman Martin said. Based on evidence at the scene, investigators believe Devin Patrick Kelley died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he was chased by armed bystanders and crashed his car.
The 26-year-old shooter also used his cellphone to tell his father that he had been shot and did not think he would survive, authorities said.
The investigation showed that Kelley had displayed a pattern of violence spanning years.
In 2014, sheriff’s deputies went to his home to check out a domestic violence complaint involving him and his then-girlfriend. People in the house said there was no problem, and no arrests were made. Kelley married the girlfriend two months later.
That same year, Kelley was discharged from the Air Force for assaulting his previous wife and a child and had served 12 months of confinement after a 2012 court-martial.
He was also charged with misdemeanour animal cruelty in 2014 in Colorado and was the focus of a protective order in that state in 2015.
The gunman’s family relationships at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs were uncertain. The sheriff said the shooter’s former in-laws sometimes attended services at the church but were not there on Sunday. Martin said the text messages were sent to the gunman’s mother-in-law, who attended the church. It was unclear if they were referring to the same people.
Once the shooting started, there was probably “no way” for congregants to escape, Wilson County Sheriff Joe D. Tackitt Jr. said.
The gunman, dressed in black tactical gear, fired an assault rifle as he walked down the centre aisle during worship services. He turned around and continued shooting on his way out of the building, Tackitt said. About 20 other people were wounded, 10 of whom were still hospitalized Monday in critical condition.
Authorities said Kelley lived in New Braunfels, about 35 miles north of the church. Investigators were reviewing social media posts he made in the days before the attack, including one that appeared to show an AR-15 semi-automatic weapon.
Less than two months ago, Kelley had started a job as an unarmed security guard at a nearby resort.
He “seemed like a nice guy” and did not cause any problems, said Claudia Varjabedian, manager at the Summit Vacation Resort in New Braunfels. In the Air Force, Kelley served in Logistics Readiness at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico from 2010 until his 2014 discharge, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said.
On Sunday, the attacker pulled into a gas station across from the church, about 30 miles (48.28 kilometres) southeast of San Antonio. He crossed the street and started firing the rifle at the church, then continued firing after entering the white wood-frame building, Martin said.
As he left, the shooter was confronted by an armed resident who “grabbed his rifle and engaged that suspect,” Martin said. A short time later, the assailant was found dead in his vehicle at the county line. Twenty-three of the dead were found in the church. Two were found outside and one died after being taken to a hospital, Martin said.
The man who confronted Kelley had help from another local resident, Johnnie Langendorff, who said he was driving past the church as the shooting happened.