Need further proof that gun control isn’t the solution: the maniac who shot up a church in rural Texas on Sunday wasn’t legally allowed to own a firearm.
Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, opened fire at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas over a dispute with his estranged wife’s parents. Most of the parishioners were dead or wounded by the time he stepped outside to engage Stephen Willeford (RELATED: Good Samaritan With AR-15 Took Down Texas Church Gunman). In all, 26 people died.
The State of Texas initially denied Kelley a gun license, but he applied again and eventually got one, due to humor error.
The initial denial originated from Kelley’s 2012 court-martial and subsequent “bad conduct” discharge. While a “bad conduct” discharge doesn’t necessarily prevent someone from legally buying firearms, Kelley’s history of spousal and child abuse – including fracturing his toddler son’s skull should have.
Somehow, the Air Force never submitted his domestic violence conviction to the FBI.
Kelley’s ability to purchase an assault weapon is merely the latest evidence of criminals ignoring the law. That’s their nature. More importantly, it shows that gun laws are not a cure-all. Carless mistakes have always enabled perpetrators. Still, almost every liberal continues to think their gun-grabbing proposals are a panacea despite mounting evidence (RELATED: Leading Dem Makes SHOCKING Admission About Vegas Shooting). All we have to do, they say, is surrender our inalienable right to self-defense. Reality paints a different picture (RELATED: Gun-Controlled Chicago Experiences Absolutely Horrifying Crime).
Texas’s gun culture stopped this tragedy before it likely would have got worse: Stephen Willeford immediately recognized the sound of gunshots. Armed with an assault rifle, he sprinted barefoot to First Baptist Church and exchanged fire with Kelley. At least one round hit the mass shooter. Injured, Kelley dropped his weapon and fled the scene in his Ford Explorer. Willeford waved down a stranger in a pickup, Johnnie Langendorff, who didn’t hesitate to help. The two men chased Kelley for 11 miles before his vehicle went into a ditch.
Willeford and Langendorff found Kelley dead in the driver’s seat with multiple gunshot wounds, one of them self-inflicted. Their courage and decisiveness are virtues you might be hard-pressed to find liberal enclaves, where restrictions put law-abiding citizens at a distinct disadvantage to violent offenders.
