It is an unfortunate reality of life in today’s world that mass casualty attacks can occur in schools, public places like shopping malls or business buildings and, perhaps most shockingly, at or in places of worship. Why “perhaps most shockingly”? Because churches and other places of worship have long been considered places of sanctuary. They were considered a safe place to go where the innocent, or even the not-so-innocent-and-on-the-run could be given safe harbor. The innocent would be given comfort and security while the not-so-innocent would be given basics like food and water while being encouraged to turn themselves into the law; to do the right thing. For such a place of security across all spectrums of people to be the site of an attack shocks the conscience.
That’s what happened on November 5, 2017 when Devin Patrick Kelley committed his attack at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. During his attack, Kelley reportedly used as many as fifteen 30-round magazines, killing 26 people, including an unborn child, and wounding another 20. It is mildly irksome that in all reporting, the number of dead is reported as 27, and that number includes Mr. Kelley himself, who somehow gets labeled as a victim even though he committed this heinous crime in a holy place.
Kelley was reportedly dressed all in black described by many in the media as “tactical gear,” which included a ballistic vest and a mask with a white skull face on it. He was armed with a rifle and, obviously, plenty of magazines to reload with. No information was available, at the time of this writing, on how he carried the spare magazines he used to reload his weapon. They may have been carried on the vest he was wearing or in pockets of his pants depending on design.
Kelley’s first two victims were outside the church and he shot them as he approached on foot from the parking lot after exiting his SUV. He reportedly continued to fire at the church itself before making entry through a side door. It was approximately 20 minutes after 11am, central time, and the eleven o’clock service was in session. The church was equipped with a webcam, positioned at the rear of the sanctuary, so that church members who couldn’t attend the service in person could view it online. By way of that camera, the entire attack, from Kelley’s first entry into the building, was recorded.
After having walked up and down the aisles, shooting at church members as they sat in the pews. (Opinion statement here: Given that this occurred in Texas, it’s almost odd that no one in the church was armed and fired back. There are a host of concerns to be considered before such an action could be taken and perhaps someone in the congregation was armed but didn’t feel the circumstances permitted an engagement of the shooter. In an interview with the Editorial Director of Officer.com he relates a story about how his mother-in-law was quite surprised to find out he carried his gun in church, as if doing so was somehow offensive to the nature of the setting. He jokingly states that as far back as he can remember as an officer he has always carried a gun in church and God has never indicated any problem with it.)
Apparently finished with his attack inside the church, Kelley exited the building going back to his SUV, but he was confronted by Mr. Stephen Willeford, a firearms instructor who was “equally” armed with a rifle similar in function and caliber to Kelley’s. From a position of cover, Willeford engaged Kelley, shooting the perpetrator at least once in the leg and once in the torso, the bullet apparently missing the body armor Kelley was wearing. It’s reported that at that time Kelley dropped his rifle but continued to engage Willeford with a handgun he also had. It’s of value to note that Kelley reportedly didn’t use the handgun inside the church or at all during the main thrust of his attack. This may indicate a “primary / secondary weapon” mindset on his part in which the handgun was only carried to be used in case the primary weapon –the rifle – failed.
As Kelley fled the scene in his SUV, Willeford was able to get another citizen, Mr. Johnnie Langendorff, to pursue Kelley. With Willeford in the passenger seat and still armed with his rifle, they gave chase. While in pursuit, Langendorff called 9-1-1 to advise them of the perpetrator’s location, vehicle description and direction of travel.
Also during the time of the chase, Kelley reportedly called his father to advise him that he had been shot and would likely not survive. He also called his wife and apologized for the murders at the church. Eventually, and apparently due to blood loss, Kelley lost control of his vehicle, leaving the roadway, hitting a sign and going through a ditch before his vehicle came to rest in a field. When police finally approached the vehicle they found Kelley dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. At that time he was armed with two handguns, one a 9mm and the other .22lr. (Interestingly, Cho at Virginia Tech was armed with a 9mm handgun and a .22lr handgun as well.)
Thankfully, the unfortunate reality that churches can be prime targets for evil doers is a lesson that has been carried across the nation. There are companies today that specialize in training church leaders in how to prepare for, prevent and respond to such attacks. Certainly, the idea of legally carrying a gun in church isn’t frowned upon in any way.
The investigation into this event was handled by the Texas Rangers and the background information they found on Kelley was not surprising if you’re familiar with the common background of so many active shooter actors.
During his high school years he had been suspended seven times and had reportedly taken self-defense (martial arts) classes to defend himself against bullies. It is not uncommon for people who had disciplinary issues themselves but were also bullied to find a violent outlet for the anger they feel as a victim.
After high school, Kelley served in the Air Force for five years and during that time he was charged with domestic violence against his wife and then toddler aged son whose skull Kelley reportedly fractured. During his time in the service he also reportedly made several statements regarding potentially committing suicide or harming himself. He was admitted for psychiatric care but escaped the facility only to be captured and returned. His time in the Air Force ended with a Dishonorable Discharge as a Court Martial found him guilty of assault on his wife, both with and without a weapon, and aggravated assault on his stepson.
His record after being discharged from the Air Force did not approve as he was accused of sexual assault and abuse by a woman he was dating while living with his parents. No formal charges were brought and he ended up remarrying (his first wife had divorced him while he was still in the Air Force). During his second marriage he was charged with animal abuse and was sentenced to probation after being found guilty.
Prior to his attack at the First Baptist Church on November 5th, Kelley had attended events at the church and his behavior had been considered as so strange that people felt the need to report it and keep an eye on him. Also prior to the attack, Kelley reportedly texted threatening messages to his then estranged second wife as well as to her mother. They both attended services at the church and while neither was there when he committed his attack, his wife’s grandmother was one of his victims.
Since that attack in November of 2017, a number of churches across the United States have begun encouraging their members to speak up if they have any worries or concerns about potential acts of violence and, where legal, members have often been encouraged to carry a weapon.
Joshua Borelli
Joshua Borelli has been studying active shooter and mass attack events over the course of the past several years, commensurate with receiving training on response and recovery to natural disasters and civil disturbances. Joshua started to outline this series of articles in an attempt to identify commonalities and logistical needs patterns for response.
