Feds: Air Force Didn't Notify FBI About Church Gunman's Conviction
DALLAS (CBS11) - The federal government admits the U.S. Air Force never notified the FBI about the Sutherland Springs church gunman's criminal history as required.
Military records show Devin Kelley was court-martialed of domestic violence in 2012 after assaulting his wife and child.
Federal law doesn't allow anyone with a domestic violence conviction to have a gun.
Investigators say Devin Kelley was able to pass an FBI background check and buy four guns during the past four years: two in Colorado and two in Texas.
Tom Crowley, a retired ATF Special Agent in Dallas, spoke with us earlier in the day Monday before the government's admission. "Those crimes and convictions should be reported to the FBI."
Crowley said, "He wasn't denied by the FBI because these four gun shops, they did the background check and nothing came up telling them to quash the sale. That goes for whether it's a convicted felon or domestic violence, or adjudicated mental defective, if the information is not accessible to the FBI during the background, that sale is going to go through."
Crowley says he believes the databases need to be improved. "With the technology today, they could be doing a lot better job of getting this information together on who should and shouldn't be purchasing a firearm."
Also Monday, Governor Abbott announced while Kelley was able to buy the guns, he was not able to obtain a concealed carry license. "I can tell you before he made this purchase, he tried to get a gun permit in the state of Texas and was denied that permit."
But he didn't specify why Texas rejected Kelley's request.