The families of victims who died in the November 2017 mass shooting at Sutherland Springs, Texas’ First Baptist Church have reached a $144.5 million proposed settlement with the Justice Department (DOJ), which previously appealed a court order meant to give them far more compensation, according to The New York Times.
Shooter Devin Kelley, a 26-year-old former Air Force member, killed 26 people and hurt many more at the church that morning with a Ruger-AR556 semi-automatic rifle before authorities found him dead. While federal law prohibited Kelley from buying guns after his previous military court conviction and “bad-conduct” discharge for assaulting his wife and child, Air Force officials did not enter that conviction history into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System meant to stop him from doing so, the NYT reported.
Federal District Court Judge Xavier Rodriguez ordered the Air Force in February 2022 to pay the victims’ families $230 million, but the DOJ appealed that order in January 2023 after the government spent months unsuccessfully negotiating with the families for a deal in the case, according to the outlet.
“They have gone through so much pain and loss in the most horrific way,” the families’ top attorney Jamal Alsaffar said of his clients Wednesday, calling them heroes, the NYT reported. “But despite that, these families fought for justice, endured and won two trials against the federal government.”
Both the government and the families predict a judge will approve the proposed settlement, according to the NYT.
“No words or amount of money can diminish the immense tragedy of the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said the outlet reported. “Today’s announcement brings the litigation to a close, ending a painful chapter for the victims of this unthinkable crime.”
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