SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, TX — Devin Patrick Kelley, the suspect in Sunday's mass shooting at a Sutherland Springs church, was denied permit to carry a firearm, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday. At least 26 people died and at least 20 more were wounded. At least 24 of those killed or injured were children, according to reports.
Abbott also said investigators are "aggressively looking into" a possible connection between Kelley and the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, located about 40 miles southeast of San Antonio. The gunman fired first from the outside of the church, then fired multiple rounds from a semi-automatic weapon, investigators said.
Investigators haven't determined a motive for the shooting, and Abbott, speaking on ABC's "Good Morning America," didn't elaborate on his theory that Kelley had a connection to the church, but said he doesn't "think this was just a random act of violence."
"It's very important that law enforcement have the ability … to tie the loose ends of this investigation up," Abbott said. He called Kelley "a very deranged individual" who was exhibiting "some mental health challenges" before he was dismissed from the Air Force in 2014 for "bad conduct" after an assault on his wife and child, according to reports. He had been court-martialed in 2012 and served 12 months in confinement before his discharge.
Kelley's former in-laws sometimes attended the church, though they weren't there Sunday, Wilson County Sheriff Joe D. Tackitt Jr. told CNN Monday.
The gunman, dressed in all black and wearing tactical gear, was seen at a gas station across from the church at about 11:20 a.m. Sunday before he crossed the street and started shooting, officials said. Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Freeman Martin told reporters at a press conference that a local citizen grabbed his own rifle and engaged the suspect as he exited the church, causing him to drop his Ruger AR rifle, and the resident then pursued the suspect.
The gunman fled in his vehicle and then crashed his at the Guadeloupe County line. He was found dead inside his vehicle, officials said. It is not known whether the gunman took his own life or was killed by the resident who pursued him. Officials said numerous weapons were found inside the gunman's vehicle and he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
On NBC's "Today" show, Abbott said Kelley, who lived in nearby New Braunfels, Texas, had been denied a firearms carry permit. Kelley had posted a photo of an assault weapon on a now-deleted Facebook page, saying in the caption, "She's a bad bitch,"according to reports. CNN reported Kelley bought a Ruger-AR556 rifle in April 2016 from an Academy Sports & Outdoors store in San Antonio, but that he had indicated on required background forms that he didn't have a criminal record that would disqualify him from purchasing the gun according to the report.
The victims ranged in age from 5 to 72 years old, and no one inside the church was unscathed, Tackitt told CNN.
Sutherland Springs is a tiny town of just 362, and 4 percent of its population was killed, Tackitt told CNN. Among the victims were a visiting pastor, the 14-year-old daughter of the church pastor, a pregnant woman, and eight members of the same family, CNN reported.
"He just walked down the center aisle, turned around and my understanding was shooting on his way back out," Tackitt said,, describing the scene as "terrible."
"It's unbelievable to see children, men and women, laying there. Defenseless people," he said.
At a Sunday evening news conference, Tackitt said the close-knit community was stunned by the shooting, the deadliest shooting in a place of worship in U.S. history and the deadliest shooting in Texas history.
"We all in here know what happened today and it's something we all say does not happen in small communities but we found out today that it does," Tackitt said.
Residents of Sutherland Spring "rely on God more than anything else" and came together after the tragedy at a candlelight vigil Sunday night, Abbott said in the ABC News interview.
President Trump, who is on an extended tour of Asia, U.S. flags at public buildings and grounds and military posts to be flown at half-staff through sunset Thursday. He said he will continue monitoring the investigation during his 11-day tour of Asia.
"Our hearts are broken but in dark times — and these are dark times — such as these, Americans do what they do best," the president said from Japan.
Abbott has also ordered flags at half-staff.
"This will be a long-suffering mourning for those in pain," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at the Sunday press conference. "We ask for God's comfort, for God's guidance and for God's healing for all those who are suffering."
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement saying his office stands ready to assist local law enforcement as needed. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn offered their condolences for the shooting victims.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mourners participate in a candlelight vigil held for the victims of a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, in Sutherland Springs, Texas. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
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Originally published Nov 6, 2017.