“What must be remembered is a local and legally armed citizen stopped this attack. A local citizen took it upon themselves to step into harm’s way and take action. That citizen hero stopped the carnage, and he did it with his own gun.”
The stories were all over the news, social media, and the internet. Wild accusations, political posturing and of course calls for gun control. There is another piece of irony to this terrible event. It was on the anniversary of the Fort Hood terrorist attack by Nidal Hasan.
The shooting at the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church this last Sunday was a national tragedy on a terrible scale. All told, the shooter claimed 26 dead and 20 more wounded, though several critically wounded victims are still in the hospital and not in any way out of the woods yet.
The little town of Sutherland Springs is much like the town I lived and patrolled in just 30 minutes away from where my patrol district was. I saw pictures of state troopers that I worked with on the news at the scene.
Sutherland Springs is a town with one blinking light, a post office, a small store/gas station and a church. Somewhere around 500 people live in the area. The shooter murdered almost 4% of the entire population of that little Texas town.
The shooter’s choice of target was not random. This incident stems from domestic issues in the family, and the church was the place of worship for the shooter’s in-laws. In the massacre, he killed his grandmother-in-law, as the rest of the family was not in church last Sunday.
The shooter, Devin Patrick Kelley, had a history of problems tracing back years. Kelley, 26, was a member of the US Air Force and served at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico from 2010 until his discharge, according to Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek.
He was court-martialed in 2012 for assault on his spouse and assault on their child, according to Stefanek. He served a year in confinement, received a bad conduct discharge, and had his rank reduced.
He had a series of mental issues, it appears. He was turned down for a concealed carry license but was able to pass a standard background check to buy the rifle he had. It seems he was less than truthful on the application.
Wearing all black, a skull-type facemask, and what is described as a ballistic-type vest, Kelly first started shooting at the church from outside. He moved along the front of the church shooting, reloading, and then at some point entered the building. He continued shooting. All but two of those attending service were hit, many multiple times.
From across the street, a resident saw what was happening and raced to get his own rifle. He engaged Kelly as he exited the church. The citizen was able to hit Kelly at least once, forcing Kelly to drop his rifle and flee in his vehicle. The citizen, as well as another, gave chase in what became a short-lived but still high-speed pursuit. After a few miles, Kelly veered off the road and crashed. He was found dead in his vehicle. At this point, it is not confirmed whether he took his own life or succumbed to the citizen’s quick reaction and good aim.
A point needs to be made here. We can expect (and in fact, are already seeing) calls for more gun control and more regulations. Of course, those calls are generally coming from one political party. What must be remembered is a local and legally armed citizen stopped this attack. A local citizen took it upon themselves to step into harm’s way and take action. That citizen hero stopped the carnage, and he did it with his own gun. I am sure glad, and I think most everyone else in the little town of Sutherland Springs is thankful he had a weapon to defend himself and others with.
He needs to be applauded, and those calling to take legally owned firearms away from citizens like him need to sit down and be quiet.
