Police were informed in 2012 that the Texas church shooter was 'a danger to himself and others'
The 26-year-old gunman who killed more than two dozen people in a Sutherland Springs, Texas, church on Sunday once escaped from a psychiatric hospital and attempted to carry out death threats against his superiors in the military, The New York Times reports.
In 2012, Devin Patrick Kelley escaped Peak Behavioral Health Services in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and was caught by police at a nearby bus station in El Paso, where he was apparently attempting to get away. Kelley had been sent to the psychiatric facility after breaking his infant stepson's skull and assaulting his wife, charges he pleaded guilty to and which led to his eventual discharge from the Air Force.
An El Paso police report claims the person who reported Kelley missing said he "suffered from mental disorders," that he was "attempting to carry out death threats [against] his military chain of command," and that he was "a danger to himself and others as he had already been caught sneaking firearms onto Holloman Air Force Base," Houston's KPRC reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Air Force did not enter into a national database the 2012 domestic violence court-martial, which would have prohibited Kelley from purchasing weapons, the Air Force announced Monday.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Michigan shooter's dad guilty of manslaughter
speed read James Crumbley failed to prevent his son from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Shooting at Chiefs victory rally kills 1, injures 21
Speed Read Gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade in Missouri
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Court rules Josef Fritzl can be moved to normal prison
Speed Read 'Notorious' criminal, now 88, was convicted for raping, committing incest and imprisoning his daughter
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Post Office scandal casts new light on Robin Garbutt murder conviction
Speed Read Supporters claim faulty Horizon evidence was key to guilty verdict but victim's mother accuses former postmaster of jumping on bandwagon
By The Week UK Published
-
Uvalde parents want indictments after DOJ's scathing school shooting report
Speed Read The Justice Department's damning review of the May 2022 school shooting in Texas details 'cascading failures,' but families of the victims want justice
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Girls left 'at the mercy' of Rochdale sex abuse gangs, says 'damning' review
Speed Read Victims 'badly failed' by council and police, said Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Prague shooting: student kills 14 people at university
Speed reads Police believe suspect, who killed himself, may have shot his father before carrying out mass murder
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Diamond in the dust: mystery of the missing Ritz Paris ring solved
Speed Read A £640,000 ring feared stolen from a hotel room is found – in a vacuum cleaner bag
By The Week UK Published