The U.S. Air Force did not enter into a national database the 2012 domestic violence court-martial of Devin Patrick Kelley, the 26-year-old who fatally shot at least 26 people at a Texas church on Sunday, the Air Force announced Monday. If his name had been in the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) database, he would have prohibited him from purchasing firearms.
Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in a statement that officials have ordered a review of how Kelley's conviction was handled by the Special Investigations Office at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, and why it was not entered into the NCIC database for background checks on gun purchases. He was convicted of fracturing his infant stepson's skull and assaulting his first wife, and received a bad conduct discharge.
A Glock and Ruger handgun were found in Kelley's car after the massacre, NBC News reports, and a Ruger AR-556 was discovered at the church. The Air Force is also now looking into whether other convictions have been inadvertently left out of the database.
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