Feb 8, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Judge orders Air Force to pay $230M in Texas church shooting

Erin Doherty

A rosary hangs on the fence surrounding the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church one week after 26 people were killed inside in Sutherland Springs, Texas on November 12, 2017. Photo: Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images

A federal judge on Monday ruled that the Air Force must pay more than $230 million to survivors and victims' families of the 2017 shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in July ruled that the Air Force holds 60% of the responsibility for the shooting in the Texas church because it failed to enter the shooter's criminal history into a federal background check database used for gun purchases. More than 25 people were killed in the shooting.

Rodriguez on Monday ordered the Air Force to pay millions, which will compensate more than 80 family members of victims and survivors, for "pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, impairment, and loss of companionship or consortium."
The government has 10 days from the order to submit any objections, according to court filings.

Catch up quick: Devin Kelley, the 26-year-old gunman, was convicted in 2012 for domestic violence against his wife and infant son. He was sentenced to a year in jail, which should have prevented him from purchasing the gun.

Kelley opened fire during a Sunday service at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs in 2017.
26 people were killed in what is the worst shooting in a place of worship in history and the deadliest mass shooting in Texas' history, CBS News reports.

Go deeper: Federal judge rules Air Force is mainly responsible for Texas church shooting

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Judge orders Air Force to pay $230M in Texas church shooting

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