Devin Kelley planned to carry out death threats on his Air Force superiors

The disgraced airman responsible for the Texas church shooting in Sutherland Springs on November 5 had reportedly escaped a mental hospital and brought weapons on base while in the US Air Force.

New information concerning the gunman arose following Houston Channel 2’s investigation, which revealed El Paso Police documents that he had escaped the Peak Behavioral Health Services in Santa Teresa, New Mexico in 2012. During an investigation into a missing persons report, police found him at a bus station in El Paso.

According to documents, the then-21-year-old “suffered from mental disorders and had plans to run from Peak Behavioral Health Services.”

Witness statements claimed the airman “was a danger to himself and others as he had already been caught sneaking firearms onto Holloman Air Force base,” and was attempting to carry out death threats he had made on his leadership.

The airman denied these claims when questioned by police and surrendered. The incident was submitted to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center database, which is used to perform background checks for firearm purchases.

This, however, would not be the first time the airman had run afoul of the law for being sadistic. In 2011, he plead guilty to assaulting his wife and child. After being given a Bad Conduct Discharge, he served 12 months in the brig.

Unfortunately, the US Air Force failed to follow procedure in reporting his domestic violence convictions, resulting in the former convict being able to purchase several firearms. In addition, the shooter had been licensed as a security guard at the time of his rampage.