U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez had ruled in July that the Air Force was “60% liable” for the attack because it failed to submit Devin Kelley’s assault conviction during his time in the Air Force to a national database, which could have prevented him from being able to purchase the gun used in the shooting, according to The Associated Press.
The judge identified several survivors to receive between $5 and $6 million for the trauma they endured because of the attack, as well as millions more for medical bills and other costs, The San Antonio Express-News reported.
Kelley was discharged in 2014 after about five years in the Air Force following a conviction for domestic violence after he assaulted his former wife and stepson. In the months surrounding his conviction for assaulting his wife and stepson, he was also barred from Holloman Air Force Base after he brought guns to the base and allegedly threatened superiors, the Express-News reported.
Under federal law, the Air Force is required to provide the FBI with convictions of military personnel for crimes like assault to be included in the National Criminal Information Center database, the AP reported.
Had the Air Force reported Kelley’s fingerprints or the final case report for his assault conviction any of the six times they were reportedly supposed to, he would have been prevented from buying a firearm from a licensed dealer.
Kelley used three guns in the 2017 shooting, opened fire during a Sunday service and fired over 450 rounds into the church, injuring several and killing 25, including one pregnant woman, which brought the official death toll to 26.
“The trial conclusively established that no other individual—not even Kelley’s own parents or partners—knew as much as the United States about the violence that Devin Kelley had threatened to commit and was capable of committing,” Rodriguez wrote in his opinion determining the Air Force’s liability in July.
As he left the church, Kelley was confronted by another man who had retrieved a gun from his truck. A chase ensued, and it was later determined that after Kelley crashed his car, he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The AP also reported that the Justice Department proposed a payment of $31.8 million, while the attorneys representing the more than 80 claimants made up of 21 survivors, their families, and family members of those who died were seeking $418 million.
Update (2/7/2022, 7:33 p.m.): This story has been updated with additional context of the shooting and its aftermath.
