Texas church gunman sent threatening texts to in-laws, officials say

NOVEMBER 5, 2017 / 2:11 PM / UPDATED 34 MINUTES AGO
Jon Herskovitz
3 MIN READ

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (Reuters) - The man accused of killing 26 people including an 18-month-old child at a Texas church had sent threatening text messages to his in-laws who sometimes attended the house of worship before launching the latest U.S. mass shooting, officials said on Monday.

“There was a domestic situation going on within the family and the in-laws,” Freeman Martin, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, told reporters. “The mother-in-law attended the church. We know he sent threatening ... that she had received threatening text messages from him.”

The gunman, Devin Patrick Kelley, was court-martialed in 2012 on charges of assaulting his wife and child and sentenced to 12 months confinement. He received a “bad conduct” discharge in 2014, according to Ann Stefanek, the chief of Air Force media operations.

Kelley, 26, walked into the white-steepled First Baptist Church in rural Sutherland Springs on Sunday carrying a Ruger AR-556 assault rifle and wearing a black bulletproof vest, then opened fire during prayer service. He wounded at least 20 others, officials said.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-texas-shooting/texas-church-gunman-sent-threatening-texts-to-in-laws-officials-say-idUSKBN1D510F