At least 26 are dead and another 20 were wounded at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas. It is the worst mass shooting in Texas’ history.
The suspect, Devin Patrick Kelley, lived 30 miles away from the church and had received a “bad conduct” discharge from the Air Force. He had been court-martialed in 2012 on charges of assaulting his wife and child; he was sentenced to 12 months confinement in addition to his discharge.
Clad in black, including a ballistic vest, the killer used a Ruger AR-15 variant, “a knockoff of the standard service rifle carried by the American military for roughly half a century.” These military-style firearms were covered by the federal assault weapons ban that went into effect in 1994 and expired in 2004; since 2004 sales of AR15s have surged.
“Ruger’s AR-15s made for civilian markets sell for about $500 to $900, depending on the model.”