USAF ordered to pay more than $230M to survivors of 2017 Texas church massacre, victims’ families

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — Survivors and the families of victims killed in a 2017 mass shooting at a Texas church will receive $230 million in damages from the U.S. Air Force, a federal judge ruled Monday.

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The service branch was deemed “60% liable” for the attack in June after it was determined that a conviction that may have kept the gunman from buying the weapon used in the massacre was never flagged.

Devin Patrick Kelley opened fire during a Sunday service at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, killing 26 parishioners and wounding 22 others before taking his own life, KENS5 reported.

Kelley had served in the Air Force prior to the mass shooting, and U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez ruled in July that his superiors failed to submit Kelley’s assault conviction while serving to a national database.

Lawyers representing some 80 survivors and relatives of those killed had petitioned the court for $418 million in damages, while the Justice Department proposed only $31.8 million.

Meanwhile, church members voted 69-35 in August to tear down their old church building, KENS5 reported.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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