TEXAS – The United States Air Force is being ordered to pay more than $230 million in damages to survivors and victims’ families of a 2017 Texas church massacre after they failed to flag a conviction that would have prohibited the gunman from legally purchasing the weapon used in the massacre, a federal judge ruled Monday, according to a report.
Devin Patrick Kelley opened fire and killed more than two dozen people during a Sunday service at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs.
Kelley died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after being shot and chased by two men who heard the gunfire at the church. He had served in the USAF prior to the attack and had an assault conviction while on active duty that failed to make it into a national database, NBCDFW reported.
U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez had ruled in July that the Air Force was “60% liable” for the attack due to the administrative failure.
The approximately 80 claimants include relatives of those killed and 21 survivors and their families. Authorities put the official death toll at 26 because one of the 25 people killed was pregnant.
Lawyers for survivors and relatives killed in the attack initially sought $418 million, while the Justice Department countered with $31.8 million.
Last year members of the church voted 69-35 to tear down the old church building due to the massacre, KENS5 reported. A new church was completed in 2019.
