Settlement Reached In 2017 Church Shooting Case
The Department of Justice announced an agreement with victims’ families for $144.5 million.
The United States Justice Department has reached an “agreement in principle” to provide financial compensation to the families of 26 victims killed in a tragic mass shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in 2017.
Crosses for members of the Holcombe family were part of a makeshift memorial for the victims of the shooting at Sutherland Springs Baptist Church placed along the highway Nov. 10, 2017, in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Photo by Eric Gay / via RNS
The agreement would settle all claims for $144.5 million. Originally, plaintiffs had asked for $418 million while the Justice Department offered $31.8 million. A court must approve some aspects of the settlement before it is final.
“No words or amount of money can diminish the immense tragedy of the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said of the settlement in a press statement.
“Today’s announcement brings the litigation to a close, ending a painful chapter for the victims of this unthinkable crime,” she added.
In November 2017, Devin Patrick Kelley opened fire during a Sunday worship service at the small Baptist church in Texas. He killed over two dozen people, including eight children. Kelley was chased and shot by men who heard the gunshots at the church. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The more than 75 plaintiffs alleged that the U.S. Air Force could have prevented the shooter from purchasing the firearms he used during the attack, claiming it was negligent in failing to transmit information about his assault conviction to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
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In July 2021, a federal district judge in San Antonio ruled that the Air Force was at least 60% liable for the attack.
According to Air Force records, Kelley was convicted in a court-martial for an assault against his wife and stepson in 2012 in New Mexico. He served 12 months for the conviction and then was discharged from the Air Force for bad conduct.
Pentagon rules require the Air Force to submit information about convictions for crimes like assault to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Investigation Services Division so they are included in the National Criminal Information Center database.
