Jun 26, 2021 - Economy

Texas court rules retailer can't be sued over mass shooting

Rebecca Falconer

A man prays at a memorial where 26 crosses were placed to honor the 26 victims killed at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on November 9, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas. — A memorial to the 25 victims killed at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on November 9, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas. 20 people were wounded in the attack. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Survivors and families of victims of a 2017 mass shooting in a Texas church can't sue the gun retailer that sold the weapon used in the attack, the state's supreme court has ruled.

The big picture: Plaintiffs alleged in four lawsuits against Academy Sports and Outdoors that the San Antonio-area store negligently sold the gun to Devin Kelley in 2016, who went on to kill 25 people at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs before killing himself.

The Air Force failed to enter Kelley's conviction for domestic violence against his wife and infant son into a government database, which should have prevented him from buying the Ruger AR-556 rifle.

What they're saying: The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the retailer was protected from litigation under the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

"Although federal law disqualified Kelley from purchasing a firearm at the time of the sale — based in part on his conviction in a 2012 court-martial for assaulting his wife and stepson and his dishonorable discharge from the United States Air Force — that disqualifying information was not in the system, which authorized Academy to 'Proceed' with the sale," the court stated.
The court noted in its ruling that federal litigation over the Air Force's handling of the incident was still before the courts.

Read the court's ruling in full, via DocumentCloud:

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Texas court rules retailer can't be sued over mass shooting

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