Texas Shooter's Gun Permit Delayed By 'Disqualifying Issue'

SAN ANTONIO, TX - Devin Kelley, the man responsible for the worst mass shooting in Texas history, had his application for a license to carry a handgun delayed in 2015 “by a possibly disqualifying issue,” state officials said Thursday.

On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that the state had denied Kelley a license to carry a gun and questioned how the suspect got his weapons.

Texas officials won’t give specifics on the “disqualifying issue” except to say it “was related to a NCIC (National Crime Information Center) entry out of El Paso County, Colorado.”

In August 2014, El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies cited Kelley for misdemeanor cruelty to animals. Numerous witnesses said they saw him beat a dog with his fists, the Denver Post reported.

However, Kelley had no problems purchasing four guns between 2014 and 2017 — two in Colorado and two in Texas — because federal background checks found no issues in his past.

But Kelley lived a troubled life that was fraught with domestic abuse, sexual assault allegations and committal to a mental institution. None of those red flags showed up on criminal background checks to buy the weapons. Other background checks for security guard jobs at a Texas water park and a resort in New Braunfels also found no problems.

In his application for a license to carry a handgun, the delay caused by the disqualifying issue prompted Kelley to drop his request, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“The suspect never responded to a request for more information. Due to his failure to respond, his application was denied and he was not issued” a permit, the agency said. It’s not clear whether he would have been denied the permit if he had responded with additional information.

DPS officials said the application information is “typically confidential,” but “because of the magnitude of this tragic incident,” they were releasing information.

A person can be ruled ineligible for a license to carry permit for several reasons, including the conviction of a felony or Class A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense, the agency said.

However, a person can purchase a gun if they have been convicted of any misdemeanor but domestic violence. A Texas resident needs no license to carry permit to purchase or possess a handgun under federal law.

Kelley, 26, opened fire on worshipers at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs around 11:20 a.m. Sunday, killing 26, including the unborn baby of one of the victims, and injuring 20 more as he went through the church aisle by aisle shooting crying babies.

Kelley’s background checks for his gun purchases came back clean because the Air Force failed to follow procedures by not submitting Kelley’s domestic abuse conviction to the FBI's Criminal Justice Investigation Services Division for inclusion in the National Criminal Information Center database.

Kelley was court-martialed on domestic abuse charges stemming from an attack on his then-wife and young stepson, who suffered a fractured skull in the assault, according to reports. Both Texas and federal law prohibit those convicted of domestic violence from owning or buying a gun.

The Air Force said in a written statement that Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein have ordered a review of the Kelley case by the Air Force Office of the Inspector General.

Documents released Tuesday showed Kelley had been committed to a mental health facility in New Mexico in 2012 after he made death threats against superior officers at Holloman Air Force Base. He had been caught trying to sneak firearms onto the base.

The Air Force said it can’t comment on the report of Kelley's committal to a mental institution, due to privacy laws, which spokesman Ann Stefanek said apply even though he is now dead.

If reported, the involuntary commitment would have been grounds to deny Kelley the purchase of the Ruger AR-556 rifle and two other guns found in his car after he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

State investigators said they have been told Kelley purchased the rifle in April 2016 from an Academy Sports & Outdoors store in San Antonio. When he filled out the paperwork for the mandatory background check, Kelly checked a box stating he had no criminal history that would disqualify him from purchasing the weapon.

In a statement Monday, the outdoors store said federal officials verified Kelley bought two guns from two of their San Antonio stores, one in 2016 and one in 2017, and "both sales were approved by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System."

Kelley was given a bad conduct discharge from the military in 2014 f0r the assault charge, but a former Air Force security operations officer who spent seven years in military law enforcement said a dishonorable discharge may have been a more appropriate punishment for the severity of Kelley’s crime, the Washington Post reported.

Had the Air Force court system handed down that punishment, Sky Gerrond said, it is more probable that the details of Kelley’s conviction would have reached the FBI’s database.

Kelley served his sentence at a Navy brig in San Diego. Navy regulations do not require a fingerprint card and conviction summary to be forwarded to the FBI after inmate in-processing, the Washington Post reported.

In the animal cruelty case, El Paso County Judge Daniel Scott Wilson sentenced Kelley to a deferred probationary sentence and ordered him to pay $368 in restitution. Wilson also ordered Kelley to pay a genetic testing surcharge of $2.50 and $78 to the victim’s assistance fund, court records say, the Denver Post reported.

The cruelty to animals charge was dismissed on March 31, 2016, after Kelley successfully completed his sentence, court records indicate.

Jennifer Jones was a witness to the incident. She told deputies she saw a young brown and white Husky running loose near the back of her camping space. Kelley ran up to the dog and jumped on top of it, the Post reported.

“She stated the white male then began punching the dog with a closed fist near the head and neck area. She stated she witnessed four to five punches and then the male suspect grabbed the dog by the neck and drug him away,” an El Paso County deputy report says.

The animal cruelty charge did not show up on a background check for a security guard job at the Schlitterbahn New Braunfels water park, said Winter Prosapio, corporate director of communications and government relations. The background check for a job is different than a background check through the Crime Information Center for a weapon purchase.

Kelley worked at Schlitterbahn for five and half weeks beginning in June, Prosapio said. His duties included checking gate locks at night. He was terminated from his position after his brief employment, Prosapio said.

“He worked at night so he wasn’t around kids,” she said. She said he was fired because “it wasn’t a good fit. Not everybody is a fit for working in hospitality.”

Last week, Kelley worked as a security guard at Summit Vacation and RV Resort in New Braunfels, which also found nothing in its criminal background check on him.

Manager Claudia Varjabedian told ABC News that Kelley left work Saturday, saying he had a headache, and then did not show up for his shift Sunday, the day of the massacre.

Image via AP Photo/David J. Phillip