Church gunman ‘wanted to murder wife’s family’
...but mother-in-law wasn’t there when he killed 26 worshippers
THE Texas gunman who killed 26 worshippers targeted a church attended by his estranged in-laws after arguing with them and sending threatening text messages, police said yesterday.
morning Church Devin Kelley, in service Sutherland 26, at walked the First Springs into Baptist Sunday and opened fire indiscriminately.
On the morning of his rampage, Kelley had sent threatening texts to his motherin-law, Michelle Shields, and had ‘expressed anger’ towards her, investigators said.
But she and her husband were not at the church when Kelley massacred the congregation. However Mrs Shield’s 71-year-old mother Lula White was among the dead.
Police said they believe the attack was motivated by the ‘domestic situation’ and not by race or religion.
Dressed in black combat gear and a black mask emblazoned with a white skull, Kelley reportedly walked up and down the aisle as he shot almost the entire congregation. The dead ranged from an 18month-old child to a 77-year-old church elder – and eight members of one family died, including a pastor who had stepped in to lead the service.
Ten of the 20 wounded remained in a critical condition yesterday.
Hero plumber Stephen Willeford, 55, who lives near the church, shot the gunman outside with his own AR-15 after his daughter told him the congregation was under attack. Kelley dropped his rifle and sped off in his silver Ford Explorer SUV – which contained at least one other firearm. Mr Willeford motorist and of up they to also 95mph chased Johnnie flagged for Kelley ten Langendorff, down miles. at speeds brave stopping Kelley then in a lost field. control As Mr of Langendorff his car, stopped his own vehicle 25 yards away, Mr Willeford jumped out with his rifle levelled at the gunman – who remained motionless in his car – until police arrived. Officers think Kelley died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Mr Langendorff said yesterday: ‘It was an act now, ask questions later kind of deal.’ Meanwhile it has emerged that Kelley was thrown out of the US military for seriously assaulting his first wife and hitting his stepson so hard he broke his skull.
Kelley joined the US Air Force in 2010 but was court-martialled two years later after admitting assaulting his wife and her child. She divorced him. He was jailed for 12 months and received a ‘bad conduct’ discharge in 2014.
On his release, he married second wife Danielle Shields in Texas. They lived briefly in a Colorado mobile home before returning to Texas where they and their young child lived on a 28-acre estate owned by his parents in New Braunfels – 35 miles north of the church. Legal experts believe his dishonourable discharge from the air force should have prevented him from purchasing a firearm.
Instead he bought four, taking an assault rifle and two handguns with him to attack the church. Kelley had posted a picture of his AR-15 assault rifle on Facebook, captioned ‘She’s a bad bitch.’
Former classmates of Kelley said yesterday that he had been a vociferous atheist. ‘He was always talking about how people who believe in God were stupid and trying to preach his atheism,’ said Nina Rosa Nava.
He recently worked as a security guard at a holiday resort but management sacked him a month later after conducting a criminal background check.
Texas pastor Robert Jeffress, who preached at Donald Trump’s inauguration service, yesterday claimed the massacre increased the need for some churchgoers to be armed. Meanwhile the US president said during a visit to Tokyo: ‘This isn’t a guns situation. This is a mental health problem at the highest level.’