The 26-year-old gunman who opened fire Sunday at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, pleaded guilty of "intentionally" breaking his infant stepson's skull in a 2012 incident, The New York Times reports. "He assaulted his stepson severely enough that he fractured his skull, and he also assaulted his wife," said former Air Force chief prosecutor Don Christensen. "He pled to intentionally doing it."
The shooter, identified as Devin Patrick Kelley, killed 26 people in his rampage. Victims range in age from 18 months to 77 years. Investigators have identified a "domestic situation" as potentially motivating Kelley's attack — Kelley's second wife, whom he married after divorcing the wife he assaulted in 2012, attended the First Baptist Church.
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.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Is the Gaza war tearing U.S. campuses apart?Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
-
DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138MSpeed Read The settlement includes 139 sexual abuse victims of the former USA Gymnastics doctor
-
14 recent scientific breakthroughsIn Depth From photos of the infant universe to an energy advancement that could save the planet
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminderSpeed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 yearsSpeed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market gunsSpeed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraudSpeed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking caseSpeed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
-
'Goon Squad' cops sentenced for torturing 2 Black menSpeed Read The former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty last year
-
Michigan shooter's dad guilty of manslaughterspeed read James Crumbley failed to prevent his son from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021
-
Shooting at Chiefs victory rally kills 1, injures 21Speed Read Gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade in Missouri
