Shooter, Devin Patrick Kelley, sent ‘threatening texts’ to his mother-in-law, called dad to say goodbye before committing suicide, after he massacred 26 people in Texas church
Eight members of one family, the pastor’s teen daughter, a mom and her two kids, among victims – Kelley killed 26 people, injuring 20, before taking his own life
Officials say Devin Patrick Kelley was in a domestic dispute with his mother-in-law Michelle Shields, who attended First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas
Kelley, 26, sent ‘threatening texts’ to his mother-in-law, called his father to say goodbye before committing suicide on after his killing spree Sunday
Kelly, then 23, wed 19-year-old Danielle Shields in April 2014, the couple are currently estranged
Danielle used to work as a teacher at the church, her mother is friends with the pastor’s wife
Kelly a former Airforce service man was previously married to Tessa K Kelley whom he divorced in 2012, the year he was court-martialed for domestic violence and wound up spending a year in a military brig
Interrupted and chased off by local residents as he was shooting on Sunday, Kelley fled in his car and was found dead behind the wheel, officials believe he shot himself in the head
Airforce reject Devin Patrick Kelley, had family ties to the Texas church where he killed at least 26, and injured scores more on Nov 5
Neither Danielle Shields [left], the shooter’s estranged wife nor her mother Michelle [right], both parishioners were present at the service when Kelly started shooting at the First Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Sunday. Kelly had sent his mother-in-law ‘threatening texts’
Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackett said on Monday that Devin Kelley’s estranged wife, Danielle Shields and her family attended the Texas church he attacked on Sunday. Kelley had earlier sent ‘threatening texts’ to his mother-in-law, Michelle Shields, Tackett said. The former airforce man was also married once before to a Tessa K Kelley, who he married in April 2011. and divorced just a year later in 2012, when he was court-martialed for domestic violence. Kelley went on to serve a year in the brig and got a dishonorable discharge from service after completing his sentence.
Authorities said Kelley sent ‘threatening texts’ to his mother-in-law Michelle, who is a parishioner at the church. Michelle and her daughter were both absent from the church service on Sunday when he struck.
Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said Kelley was convicted on one count of assault on his spouse and another count of assault on their child. He was sentenced to 12 months’ confinement, a reduction in rank and was discharged for bad conduct two years later.
Stefanek said Kelley served in Logistics Readiness at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico from 2010 until his discharge.
Devin Patrick Kelley opened fire on the group of parishioners Sunday morning, killing 26 and injuring 20, in Sutherland Springs, Texas
The attack only stopped when Kelley was confronted by local hero Stephen Willeford, 55, who shot him through a gap in his body armor as the gunman tried to leave the church. Kelley fled in his car, where he proceeded to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head.
At least 26 people were killed in the shooting, but the death toll is expected to climb, authorities say. Victims include a two-year-old girl and the 14-year-old adopted daughter of the pastor.
Of the 20 people who were hospitalized, 10 remain in critical condition, six are in stable condition, four are in serious condition and four have been released. Officials plan to release the identities of the victims as soon as their next of kin have been released.
Eight members of one family, including a eight-months-pregnant mother and three of her children were killed. The Connally Memorial Medical Center said ‘multiple’ victims are being treated.
Kelley [left], is estranged from wife Danielle [right], holding a baby and a dog in the photo. who escaped the mayhem because she was not present during the service on Sunday
Police and FBI seal the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs with crime scene tape after Suhday’s shooting
Deputies at the crime scene – The First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, on Sunday
After Kelley opened fire on the group of parishioners Sunday morning, killing 26 and injuring 20. A local resident who lived near the church intervened, shooting Kelley as he left the church.The shooter Kelley jumped into his SUV and fled, as the man and another neighbor gave chase in another car.
Police say Kelley called his father as he was driving away from the church, telling him he was shot and didn’t think he was going to make it.
The two men who pursued Kelley say he lost control of his car and crashed into a ditch. By the time police showed up on the scene, he was dead. Authorities say Kelley may have committed suicide through a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, however the official cause of death is pending an autopsy,
All of the bodies have been removed from the church and will undergo autopsies over the next several days.
Investigators said they have also obtained video that was taken inside the church during the shooting.
Investigators work at the scene of a deadly shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Sunday
Kelley’s SUV is removed from the crash scene by police on Sunday night
A Ruger .556 rifle (top) was left behind at the church, a Ruger .22 (bottom left) and Glock 9mm (bottom right) were recovered in Kelley’s SUV
Police discovered that Kelley bought four guns in the past four consecutive years, two of them in Colorado and two in Texas.
Horrific details of the attack have started to emerge with police saying there was likely ‘no way’ for congregants to escape. Wilson County Sheriff Joe D. Tackitt Jr. said: ‘He (Kelley) just walked down the center aisle, turned around and my understanding was shooting on his way back out. It’s unbelievable to see children, men and women, laying there. Defenseless people.’
Local residents Stephen Willeford and Johnnie Langendorff are the two men who stopped the Texas church shooter from getting away by intervening in the massacre and then chasing the suspect.
As Kelley was leaving the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, after spraying the congregation in a hail of automatic gunfire, Stephen Willeford grabbed his rifle and engaged the suspect.
Kelley reportedly, dropped his rifle, which was a Ruger assault type rifle, and fled from the church, with Wilford in pursuit. Another member of the local community, Johnnie Langendorff says he was driving to Sutherland Springs to pick up his girlfriend when Willeford ran over and jumped in his truck.
Langendorff said: ‘He jumped in my truck and said, “He just shot up the church, we need to go get him.” And I said “Let’s go.”
Crime Stoppers: Stephen Willeford, [left] and Johnnie Langendorff [right] have been praised as heroes after they were able to stop Texas gunman Devin Kelley’s shooting then forced him to commit suicide
As they approached a sharp curve in the road, in Guadalupe County, he said Kelley appeared to lose control and his car swerved off the road.
‘It’s like he just gave up. He just kind of went off in the ditch, hit a hay bale from what I could see and then he just never moved after that. He didn’t get out. He didn’t try anything. Nothing.
‘When he hit the ditch the gentleman that was with me got out, rested his rifle on my hood and kept it aimed at him – telling him to ‘Get out, get out’. There was no movement there was none that. They guy didn’t put up a fight or anything like that.
‘Once police showed up they moved me and the gentleman back and then everybody showed up and they took action,’ Lagendorff said.
The official view is that Kellley committed suicide while fleeing in the car, which caused him to lose control of the vehicle. They found him dead inside, along with multiple weapons and possible explosives.
During a Vigil held after dozens are killed in a church shooting in Texas, a man raises his right hand and bows his head
The suspect was a US Air Force veteran and former Bible studies teacher but his Facebook page, which has been deleted by the FBI, reveals he had a worrying fascination with firearms. He’d recently shared a photo of an AR-15 style gun on Facebook with the caption: ‘She’s a bad b***h.’
Kelley’s social mefiaprofile states that he joined the US Air Force after graduating New Braunfels High School in 2009. After his discharge from the military in 2014,redords show that he was living in Colorado where he was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty.
Kelley was given a deferred probationary sentenced and ordered to pay $368 in restitution. The case was dismissed in march 2016 when he completed his sentence.
San Antonio police raided Kelley’s home late Sunday night, with K9 and bomb squad units.
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