Devin Patrick Kelley and the 2017 Sutherland Springs Church Massacre
Background
Devin Patrick Kelley was born on February 12, 1991, and lived near New Braunfels, Texas. He became responsible for one of the deadliest mass shootings at a place of worship in United States history when he attacked the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on November 5, 2017. Kelley killed 26 victims, including an unborn child, and wounded 22 other people before fleeing the community and taking his own life.
Kelley had previously served in the United States Air Force. He enlisted in 2010 and was assigned to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. His military career ended after serious acts of domestic violence. In 2012, Kelley was court-martialed for assaulting his first wife and her young son. The child suffered a fractured skull during the abuse. Kelley was convicted, sentenced to 12 months of confinement, reduced in rank, and given a bad-conduct discharge.
His conviction should have prevented him from legally purchasing firearms. However, the Air Force failed to properly submit his disqualifying criminal information to the federal background-check system. Kelley was therefore able to purchase several weapons, including the Ruger AR-556 semiautomatic rifle later used in the church massacre.
Events Leading to the Attack
Before the shooting, Kelley had a turbulent relationship with members of his second wife's family. Investigators said he had sent threatening messages to his mother-in-law, Lula Woicinski White, who regularly attended the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. Authorities described the conflict as a domestic situation rather than an attack motivated primarily by religion or race.
Kelley's mother-in-law was not at the church on the morning of November 5, 2017. Her mother, Lula White, was present and became one of the people killed. Kelley reportedly contacted members of the family shortly before the massacre and continued making hostile statements.
The First Baptist Church Attack
Shortly after 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 5, 2017, Kelley drove a white Ford Explorer to Sutherland Springs, a small community in Wilson County southeast of San Antonio. He stopped near a Valero gas station across the road from the First Baptist Church, where worshippers were attending the regular Sunday service.
At approximately 11:20 a.m., Kelley stepped from his vehicle wearing black tactical clothing, a ballistic vest and a mask. He was armed with a Ruger AR-556 semiautomatic rifle and carried numerous loaded magazines. He crossed the road toward the church and began firing at the building and people outside.
Kelley killed two victims outside before entering the sanctuary. Inside, adults and children were seated in the pews while visiting pastor John Bryan Holcombe conducted the service. Kelley moved through the church, firing repeatedly into the congregation. Investigators later determined that he discharged hundreds of rounds during an attack lasting approximately 11 minutes.
The church routinely recorded its services, and the attack was captured by a camera positioned inside the sanctuary. Investigators who examined the recording concluded that Kelley deliberately fired at victims throughout the room, paused to reload and continued shooting at people who were wounded or attempting to hide. Twenty-three victims were found dead inside the church, two were killed outside and another died after being transported for medical treatment.
Victims Killed on November 5, 2017
- Lula Woicinski White, 71 – Kelley's grandmother-in-law and a longtime First Baptist Church volunteer. She was killed at the church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
- Annabelle Renee Pomeroy, 14 – The daughter of senior pastor Frank Pomeroy and Sherri Pomeroy. Her parents were out of town when she was killed inside the church.
- Haley Krueger, 16 – A teenage member of the congregation who hoped to become a nurse. She was killed during the Sunday service.
- Richard Rodriguez, 64 – A longtime church member who was killed with his wife inside the sanctuary.
- Theresa Rodriguez, 66 – Richard Rodriguez's wife and a longtime member of the congregation.
- Robert Corrigan, 51 – A retired United States Air Force member who was killed with his wife.
- Shani Corrigan, 51 – Robert Corrigan's wife and high-school sweetheart. The couple had married in 1985.
- Joann Ward, 30 – A mother who was killed with two of her daughters. Two of her other children were wounded.
- Brooke Ward, 5 – Joann Ward's daughter, killed inside the church.
- Emily Garcia, 7 – Joann Ward's daughter, killed during the attack.
- Karen Marshall, 57 – A military veteran who was killed with her husband.
- Robert Scott Marshall, 56 – Karen Marshall's husband and a fellow military veteran.
- Dennis Johnson, 77 – A church elder, military veteran and longtime member of the congregation.
- Sara Johnson, 68 – Dennis Johnson's wife. The couple was killed together at the church.
- Keith Braden, 62 – An Army veteran, grandfather and church member who had recently entered remission from cancer.
- Peggy Lynn Warden, 56 – A church volunteer and teacher who was reportedly protecting her grandson when she was killed.
- John Bryan Holcombe, 60 – A visiting pastor who was approaching or standing near the pulpit when the shooting began.
- Karla Plain Holcombe, 58 – Bryan Holcombe's wife of approximately 40 years.
- Marc Daniel “Danny” Holcombe, 36 – The son of Bryan and Karla Holcombe.
- Noah Holcombe, 18 months – A toddler and member of the Holcombe family.
- Crystal Marie Holcombe, 36 – A pregnant mother and Bryan and Karla Holcombe's daughter-in-law.
- Crystal Holcombe's unborn child – The unborn baby was included in the official death toll of 26 victims.
- Megan Hill, 9 – Crystal Holcombe's daughter.
- Emily Rose Hill, 11 – Crystal Holcombe's daughter.
- Gregory Lynn Hill, 13 – Crystal Holcombe's son.
- Tara Elyse McNulty, 33 – A close friend of the Holcombe family who lived with Bryan and Karla and regarded them as parental figures.
The Wounded
Twenty-two additional people suffered gunshot wounds and other injuries. The wounded ranged from young children to elderly church members. Emergency personnel transported victims to Connally Memorial Medical Center in Floresville, University Hospital in San Antonio and Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston.
Several survivors suffered permanent disabilities. Church member Kris Workman was shot twice and left paralyzed from the waist down. Five-year-old Ryland Ward was shot multiple times and spent weeks hospitalized before returning home. Other survivors described hiding beneath pews, shielding children, remaining motionless among the dead and escaping only after Kelley left the sanctuary.
Stephen Willeford Confronts Kelley
The sound of gunfire was heard by nearby resident Stephen Willeford. After learning that someone was attacking the church, Willeford retrieved an AR-15-style rifle from his home and ran toward the scene without stopping to put on shoes.
As Kelley emerged from the church, Willeford took cover and exchanged gunfire with him. Willeford struck Kelley in the torso and leg, including an area not fully protected by his ballistic equipment. Kelley dropped his rifle, returned fire with a handgun and entered his Ford Explorer.
Kelley then drove away from Sutherland Springs. Willeford approached Johnnie Langendorff, who had stopped nearby in a pickup truck, and told him that the fleeing driver had attacked the church. Langendorff allowed Willeford into the truck, and the two men pursued Kelley while communicating with emergency dispatchers.
Flight and Death
The pursuit continued north along rural roads at high speed. Wounded and losing control of his vehicle, Kelley eventually left the roadway near the neighboring community of New Berlin. His Ford Explorer struck a road sign and came to a stop in a ditch.
During the pursuit or shortly before the crash, Kelley telephoned his father and said he had been shot and did not expect to survive. He then suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Willeford kept his rifle trained on the vehicle until law-enforcement officers arrived.
Kelley was found dead inside the Explorer on November 5, 2017. Investigators recovered handguns from the vehicle along with additional ammunition. The rifle used inside the church had been abandoned near the scene of his confrontation with Willeford.
Investigation and Motive
Federal, state and local investigators examined Kelley's background, electronic communications, firearm purchases and family relationships. Officials concluded that his anger toward his second wife's relatives was a central factor in the attack. His mother-in-law had received threatening messages from him and was known to attend the targeted church.
Investigators did not find evidence that the shooting had been planned as an organized terrorist attack. Although Kelley selected a church filled with worshippers, authorities characterized the immediate motive as connected to domestic conflict and personal hostility. His decision to fire indiscriminately into the congregation transformed that dispute into a mass murder that devastated an entire community.
Failure of the Federal Background-Check System
After the massacre, officials discovered that the Air Force had failed to report Kelley's 2012 domestic-violence conviction to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Had the conviction been properly entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, Kelley should have been prohibited from buying the rifle used in the attack.
Kelley purchased the Ruger AR-556 from an Academy Sports + Outdoors store in San Antonio on April 7, 2016. On the required federal form, he falsely denied having a disqualifying criminal history. Because the military conviction was absent from the federal database, the transaction was approved.
The Air Force later acknowledged that its personnel had not followed required procedures. Reviews found broader deficiencies in the military's reporting of criminal records, prompting efforts to improve the submission of convictions and other disqualifying information to federal databases.
Civil Litigation and Government Responsibility
Survivors and relatives of the victims filed lawsuits against the United States government, arguing that the Air Force's failure to report Kelley's conviction allowed him to obtain the weapon used in the massacre. A federal judge later concluded that the government's negligence played a substantial role in making the attack possible.
The litigation resulted in findings that assigned significant responsibility to the Air Force for failing to transmit Kelley's criminal record. The cases became an important example of how incomplete government reporting can undermine firearm background checks even when a purchaser is legally prohibited from possessing weapons.
Impact on Sutherland Springs
Sutherland Springs was a small, closely connected community, and the loss of 26 victims affected nearly every resident. Multiple generations of several families were killed. The Holcombe family alone lost eight relatives when Crystal Holcombe's unborn child was included, while numerous other families lost spouses, parents, children and grandparents.
The First Baptist Church building became both a crime scene and a memorial. The sanctuary was later painted white, and chairs bearing the victims' names were placed where their bodies had been found. The congregation eventually constructed a new worship center while continuing to honor those killed and support the wounded.
Legacy
The Sutherland Springs massacre remains one of the deadliest mass shootings in Texas history and one of the deadliest attacks on a religious congregation in the United States. The case drew national attention to domestic violence, failures in military record reporting, firearm background checks, emergency trauma care and the role of civilians who intervene during mass attacks.
Devin Patrick Kelley's criminal violence ended with his death on November 5, 2017, but the consequences continued for survivors, bereaved families and the Sutherland Springs community. The victims are remembered not simply as a death toll, but as children, parents, grandparents, veterans, church volunteers and neighbors whose lives were taken during an ordinary Sunday service.
