[Independent] The Department of Justice has reached a $144.5m settlement with the victims of a 2017 mass shooting.A federal court ruled in 2021 that the US government was liable for damages related to a mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. The shooting left 26 people dead and another 22 wounded.
The shooter had been enlisted in the US Air Force but had been discharged for several years by the time of the attack. The USAF was found to be "60 per cent" responsible for the shooting, as an investigation found that the military branch failed to alert the FBI to the gunman's criminal history.
Had the FBI known, he would not have been able to legally purchase the gun he used in the attack.
"No words or amount of money can diminish the immense tragedy of the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs," Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said. "Today’s announcement brings the litigation to a close, ending a painful chapter for the victims of this unthinkable crime."
The shooter, Devin Kelley, killed 26 people and injured more than 20 others during his 2017 attack on the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. The USAF discharged him years prior for bad behaviour and a convinction for assaulting his wife and infant stepson.
Judge Xavier Rodriguez, who ultimately ruled on the government’s responsibility for the shooting, found that he Air Force was well aware of Kelley’s violent threats and behavior. He said the military understood the threat Kelley posed moreso than the man’s own parents or romantic partners.
He died by suicide following the mass shooting.
Kelley reportedly had a history of making violent threats against his superiors and threatened to carry out mass shootings. The judge ultimately determined that the Air Force failed to do the responsible thing and report the violent threats made by Kelley to the FBI.
The government appealed an initial demanding it pay $230m to the families, arguing that it could not be more responsible for Kelley’s actions than Kelley himself, NPR reported at the time.
More than 80 family members of the victims sued the USAF, according to San Antonio Express-News.
Just before taking his life with a self inflicted gun shot wound he was being chased by members of the church’s flock in pickups and was shot twice.
