A man identified in some media reports as Devin Patrick Kelley has gunned down 26 people and injured at least 20 more in an attack on Sutherland Springs Baptist Church, before he was found dead in his car. Here is what we know about the alleged attacker.
Speculation has been rife in the media about the identity of the man behind “the largest mass shooting” in Texas’s history, as described by Governor Greg Abbot. While the police have yet to officially identify the perpetrator, some US media have already come up with the name of Devin Kelley, citing law enforcement sources close to the investigation.
Kelley is said to be 26 years old and a resident of New Braunfels, a city near San Antonio, located some 30 miles from the site of the attack. As it appears from his Facebook account, since taken down, he was a fan of guns, with his cover photo showing an assault rifle. Purported screenshots of his FB page, whose authenticity cannot be immediately confirmed, appear to feature an Antifascist Action banner, which sparked speculation online about his ties to the left-wing scene.
A LinkedIn page purportedly belonging to Kelly states that after he graduated from high school in 2009, he joined the US Air Force. CBS reported that Kelley served from 2010 to 2014, when he was dishonorably discharged and was court-martialed in May 2014 over an unspecified offense.
READ MORE: At least 26 dead in Texas church attack, gunman killed
After his stint with the US military, Kelly reportedly enrolled in a summer Bible school. It is unknown if he was religious or not, as a screenshot of his Facebook groups list shows he was a member of at least four groups on atheism.
Kelley was married, with CBS reporting his wife’s name as Danielle Lee Shields.
Kelley was wielding an assault rifle when he went on a shooting rampage in the church, with Freeman Martin, the DPS Regional Director, saying that police discovered “multiple weapons” in his car. However, the Gun Control Act of 1968 explicitly prohibits licensed sellers from selling firearms or ammunition to persons who have “been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions.”
Kelley’s relatives said they were shocked by the attack and could not imagine he was capable of such an atrocity.
“I never in a million years could have believed Devin could be capable of this kind of thing,” Kelley’s uncle Dave Ivey said, as cited by NBC news, calling the massacre of churchgoers a “cowardly action” for which his whole family would have to suffer.
The US Air Force confirmed that Devin Kelley served in the 49th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base, spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told NBC. However, she did not identify the cause of his discharge in 2014.
Kelley’s relatives said they were shocked by the attack and could not imagine he was capable of such an atrocity.
“I never in a million years could have believed Devin could be capable of this kind of thing,” Kelley’s uncle Dave Ivey said, as cited by NBC News, calling the massacre of churchgoers a “cowardly action” for which his whole family would have to suffer.
