Posted on Jul 8, 2021
Judge Says The Air Force Is Mostly Responsible For A 2017 Texas Church Shooting
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https://www.npr.org/2021/07/07/ [login to see] /judge-says-the-air-force-is-mostly-responsible-for-a-2017-texas-church-shooting
A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Air Force is mostly responsible for a former serviceman killing more than two dozen people at a Texas church in 2017 because it failed to submit his criminal history into a database, which should have prevented him from purchasing firearms.
U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in San Antonio wrote in a ruling signed Wednesday that the Air Force was "60% responsible" for the massacre at First Baptist Church in the small town of Sutherland Springs, where Devin Kelley opened fire during a Sunday service. Authorities put the official death toll at 26 because one of the 25 people killed was pregnant.
The attack remains the worst mass shooting in Texas history.
"The trial conclusively established that no other individual — not even Kelley's own parents or partners — knew as much as the United States about the violence that Devin Kelley had threatened to commit and was capable of committing," Rodriguez wrote.
A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Air Force is mostly responsible for a former serviceman killing more than two dozen people at a Texas church in 2017 because it failed to submit his criminal history into a database, which should have prevented him from purchasing firearms.
U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in San Antonio wrote in a ruling signed Wednesday that the Air Force was "60% responsible" for the massacre at First Baptist Church in the small town of Sutherland Springs, where Devin Kelley opened fire during a Sunday service. Authorities put the official death toll at 26 because one of the 25 people killed was pregnant.
The attack remains the worst mass shooting in Texas history.
"The trial conclusively established that no other individual — not even Kelley's own parents or partners — knew as much as the United States about the violence that Devin Kelley had threatened to commit and was capable of committing," Rodriguez wrote.
Judge Says The Air Force Is Mostly Responsible For A 2017 Texas Church Shooting
Posted from npr.org
San Antonio
Firearms and Guns
Lawsuit
Domestic Violence
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 3
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When I lived in SA they had a big gun show and sale about 3 times a year, I don't think they did background checks there.
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SFC Jim Ruether
Our gun shows in the Midwest always follow the laws of the state they are in. I can purchase in another state because my Concealed Carry License allows me to do it. No one else can purchase a firearm unless the NICS background check is conducted
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SSG Byron Howard Sr
Not sure if this is all 50 states.
If you go to a gun show and buy a firearm from a federally licensed seller, you will have to pass a background check, just as if you went to a bricks-and-mortar gun store. You would only escape a background check at a gun show if you bought from a seller who isn't federally licensed.Apr 9, 2021
If you go to a gun show and buy a firearm from a federally licensed seller, you will have to pass a background check, just as if you went to a bricks-and-mortar gun store. You would only escape a background check at a gun show if you bought from a seller who isn't federally licensed.Apr 9, 2021
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SFC Jim Ruether
SFC Jim Ruether - You are right Byron my CC only works for purchasing in states that recognize my CC License. Sure is convenient when it works.
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This begs the question, if the AF was 60% responsible, who held responsibility for the remaining 40%? Yes, this individual was a member of the AF and while in uniform the article does state he faced disciplinary action for assault resulting in his discharge. His family was aware of his behavior and therefore had the responsibility to alert authorities if they witnessed any behavior they viewed as constituting a threat to self or others. Whether the proper authorities chose to act on this information or not is another thing. In just about every mass shooting, it can be said that the shooter had exhibited some signs of abnormal behavior and a friend or relative had reported it to authorities, but nothing was done. As a mental health professional who has and is studying mass shootings, there are multiple factors at play when these events happen. So again, I ask, where does the remaining 40% of the responsibility in this case lay?
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Sadly, this is yet another opportunity for folks to find fault with anyone else but the perpetrator. The former serviceman made a decision and did a bad thing. Nothing the Air Force did or didn't do had any real impact on what this person decided to do. But, once again, our system/society wants to blame others. Blame the Air Force, blame gun manufacturers, blame the lack of background checks, blame loose gun laws....blame anything and anyone except the person who chose to do a very bad thing. Someday, we'll wake up and stop pointing fingers at others and leave the blame where it should be - on the person(s) who participated in the criminal act.
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