Air Force failed to enter Texas shooter's domestic violence convictions into database

Mourners at a vigil in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

(Image credit: AP Photo/Meredith Heather Cooper)

last updated 7 November 2017

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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox