Federal Government Implicates Academy Sports In Sutherland Springs Mass Shooting
A federal judge in San Antonio has named Academy Sports + Outdoors a co-defendant in a lawsuit stemming from the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting, the deadliest in modern Texas history.
Victims and family members from Sutherland Springs sued the government for damages in 2017 after the U.S. Air Force failed to report shooter Devin Kelley’s criminal and psychiatric history to the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System as required by law. Kelley had a history of felony-level domestic violence offenses which should have disqualified him from purchasing weapons.
The government has argued that it should not be held liable, citing the 1993 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which protects federal employees if they fail to prevent illegal firearm purchases.
On Oct. 15, the government implicated Academy Sports in the mass shooting because the retailer sold Kelley the gun and high-capacity magazine he used during his rampage.
Read more: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/texas/2019/10/18/349503/federal-government-implicates-academy-sports-in-sutherland-springs-mass-shooting/
