Information regarding Sunday’s shooting massacre at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in Texas that left 26 churchgoers dead has been slow to trickle in from investigators. However, authorities have been working under the assumption that a “domestic situation” may have motivated suspect Devin Patrick Kelley’s alleged actions. His mother-in-law frequently attended that church but was not present during the massacre, and she had received threatening text messages from Kelley, including on Sunday.
“We know that he expressed anger towards his mother-in-law, who attends this church,” said Freeman Martin of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
CNN now reports that Kelley’s grandmother-in-law, Lula White, was among his victims in the shooting. According to White’s friends and her Facebook profile, she volunteered at the church often. The family has thus far declined to speak to the media about White’s death and the shooting.
Following the massacre, investigators raided Kelley’s home but haven’t revealed what, if anything, they discovered at the scene. Investigators are still trying to determine how Kelley was able to acquire the weapon he used in the attack.
On Monday afternoon, the New York Times reported that Kelley cracked his infant stepson’s skull during one of his previous domestic violence incidents, which resulted in a bad conduct discharge from the military.
At a press conference in Japan on Monday, President Trump called the incident “a mental health problem at the highest level.”
(Via CNN)