Family That Lost 9 In Sutherland Springs Mass Shooting Suing Government
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The family that lost nine loved ones in the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church shooting last November blames the federal government for the mass shooting that killed 26 people.
The Holcombe family says it will sue the federal government for damages.
In court documents they claim, "While the shooter pulled the trigger... it was failures of the United States Air Force and others that allowed the shooter to purchase, own and/or possess... the semiautomatic rifle, ammunition and body armor he used in the shooting spree."
The Air Force did not report Devin Patrick Kelley's history of violence, mental illness and dishonorable discharge.
The Holcombs say that would have put him in the FBI's criminal database and kept him from owning guns.
Church member and survivor John Holcombe had invited the public to attend the November 15 funeral of his pregnant wife, Crystal, 36, and three of her children from a previous marriage, Greg Hill, 13, Emily Hill, 11, and Megan Hill, 9; his parents, 60-year-old Bryan and Karla Holcombe, 58; a brother, 36-year-old Marc Holcombe, and Marc's 18-month-old daughter, Noah.
Fire marshals had to turn hundreds more people away from the services at an events center in Floresville, Texas, about 12 miles from the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, where the Nov. 5 shooting occurred.
