4% Of Town’s Population Killed In Texas Mass Shooting, Gunman Purchased Firearm Legally But Shouldn’t Have Been Able To

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, TEXAS — A large portion of the population of a small Texas town was gunned down by a man with mental illness, making it the worst mass shooting in Texas history.

New reports on Monday show that the gunman had a history of domestic violence and as recently as Sunday Morning, sent his mother-in-law a threatening text message.

26 people were killed and another 20 were injured. The deceased range in age from 18 months to 77 years old. The pastor’s 14-year-old daughter was among those lives lost.

The church that was attacked was the place where two of the gunman’s relatives worshiped. Neither of the two relatives were inside the church during the attack.

New information about the firearm used brings up the question of how reliable the entire background check system actually is, as it seems to have failed on a grand scale in this case.

In April 2016, Kelley purchased the Ruger AR-556 rifle he allegedly used in the shooting from a store in San Antonio, Texas, a law enforcement official said. There was no disqualifying information in the background check conducted as required for the purchase, a law enforcement official told CNN.

At one point, the shooter tried to get a license to carry a gun in Texas but was denied by the state, Abbott said, citing the director of Texas’ Department of Public Safety.

“So how was it that he was able to get a gun? By all the facts that we seem to know, he was not supposed to have access to a gun,” Abbott said. “So how did this happen?”

I have never attempted to gain a concealed carry permit in Texas, so I don’t know the process from start to finish, but some red flag must have come up that told the state to say no to issuing the permit to the gunman. Had the background check system found this same information, he may not have been able to purchase the firearm.

But, let’s not forget, he could have used other means at acquiring a firearm to do his devastation. All fingers will still be pointing to guns, and now the topic will shift to the background check system. There won’t be much talk about the mental health apocalypse that the Country is facing, however.