The deadliest mass shooting in Texas history and at any American place of worship, it exposed critical gaps in the federal firearms background check system.
Key Facts
- Killed
- 26 people
- Wounded
- 22 people
- Perpetrator
- Devin Kelley, age 26
- Federal compensation awarded
- nearly $250 million USD
- Perpetrator's disqualifying conviction
- Domestic violence court-martial, U.S. Air Force
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Devin Kelley, a 26-year-old former U.S. Air Force member, had a domestic violence conviction from a court-martial that should have barred him from purchasing firearms. The Air Force failed to report this conviction to federal databases, allowing Kelley to legally acquire weapons despite being legally prohibited from doing so.
On November 5, 2017, Kelley opened fire at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing 26 worshippers and wounding 22 others. He was subsequently shot and wounded by a bystander before fleeing, and later killed himself. It became the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history and the deadliest at an American place of worship.
A federal judge ruled in 2021 that the U.S. government was negligent and awarded victims and families nearly a quarter-billion dollars. Congress passed new legislation to close gaps in background check reporting procedures, requiring military branches to properly submit disqualifying criminal records to federal firearms databases.