The gunman who turned a Texas church into a shooting gallery had committed a lot of violence in his past, including a court-martial from the Air Force for assaulting his first wife and child, an animal cruelty arrest — and a habit of harassing ex-girlfriends.
“He was very sick in the head,” Katy Landry, a former girlfriend of Devin Patrick Kelley.
Kelley, 26, arrived at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs on Sunday ready for war, wearing black tactical gear and a ballistics vest and carrying what authorities described as an “assault-type rifle.” He opened fire, killing 26 people, at least a dozen of them children.
What was behind this act of carnage in a place of sanctuary? Authorities have not specified a motive but they have noted that his mother-in-law had attended the church and been threatened by him.
There was a domestic situation going on with the family and in-laws. The mother-in-law had received threatening text messages from Kelley in recent days.
Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt said that the family members had not been present at the time of attack and Devin Kelley was not legally permitted to own the weapons, which included a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns.