Families of horror mass shooting at church killing 26 awarded $144million payout
Families of a horror mass shooting at a church that killed 26 have been awarded a huge $144 million (£115 million) payout.
The Justice Department confirmed the settlement on Wednesday after Devin Kelley opened fire during a Sunday service at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in Texas, US, in November 2017.
It remains the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history after authorities put the death toll at 26 because one of the 25 people killed was pregnant.
Mr Kelley had served nearly five years in the Air Force before being discharged in 2014 for bad conduct, after he was convicted of assaulting a former wife and stepson, cracking the child's skull.
Families visiting the twenty six crosses representing the twenty six victims (SMITH/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)The Air Force has publicly acknowledged that the felony conviction for domestic violence - had it been put into the FBI database - could have prevented Mr Kelley from buying guns from licensed firearms dealer.
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U S District Judge Xavier Rodriguez had previously ruled that the Air Force was "60% liable" for the attack because it failed to submit Kelley's assault conviction during his time in the Air Force to a national database.
He ruled that Mr Kelley was at fault for the rest.
The Justice Department said the settlement is still subject to court approvals.
It remains the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history (AFP/Getty Images)"No words or amount of money can diminish the immense tragedy of the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs," said Vanita Gupta, associate attorney general for the Justice Department, in a statement.
"Today's announcement brings the litigation to a close, ending a painful chapter for the victims of this unthinkable crime."
Jamal Alsaffar, a Texas lawyer who has represented the Sutherland Springs victims in the lawsuit, noted that the settlement was not yet final and said the families have been fighting for justice.
"The Sutherland Springs families are heroes," Alsaffar said in a statement. "The country owes them a debt of gratitude. They have gone through so much pain and loss in the most horrific way."
The settlement would end a long-running lawsuit that was filed in 2018.
The settlement would end a long-running lawsuit that was filed in 2018 (via ZUMA/REX/Shutterstock)When lawsuits are filed against federal agencies or programs, they are defended by lawyers with the Justice Department, which has separate divisions for criminal prosecutions and other responsibilities.
The settlement is less than the $230 million (£184 million) that Mr Rodriguez had ordered the government to pay families and the victims last year, but the Justice Department appealed that ruling.
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The families have been fighting for justice, according to their lawyers (SMITH/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Mr Rodriguez said in 2021 that had the government done its job and entered Kelley's history into the database, "it is more likely than not that Kelley would have been deterred from carrying out the Church shooting."
Mr Kelley was able to purchase four firearms after being discharged in 2014, three of which he carried into the church.
After the shooting, the Air Force was blamed for not reporting his record to the FBI.
The conviction would have been a red flag in the mandatory background check when Kelley tried to purchase a gun.
Mr Kelley died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after he was shot and chased by two men who heard the gunfire at the church.
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