Texas Governor Greg Abbott doesn’t believe that the mass shooting at a rural Texas church was just a random act of violence. According to his beliefs, there is a connection between the suspect and the church and soon that connection would emerge, The Hill reports.
“What I want to convey to you is I don’t think this was just a random act of violence. It was two things, one is a very deranged individual who I understand long before he was dishonorably discharged from the United States military was demonstrating some mental illness challenges,” Abbot told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
He did not want to provide more information on potential motive, but added that law enforcement was aggressively looking at why the particular church was targeted. The shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, left 26 dead, and 20 others injured. The 26-year old alleged shooter also died and the number of fatalities rose to 27. The attacker was identified as Devin Patrick Kelley and according to media reports he was a former Air Force member and was court-martialed in 2012 on charges of assault on his spouse and on their child. He was sentenced to one year in military jail.
The shooter was able to purchase an assault rifle despite a law that restricts firearms from people convicted of domestic violence, ABC News reports. According to a law enforcement official, Kelley purchased the Ruger model AR-556 rifle used in the shooting at a San Antonio sporting goods store in April 2016. President Donald Trump said that mental health is to blame for the shooting and added that the assailant was a very deranged individual.
“Mental health is your problem here. This was a very, based on preliminary reports, a very deranged individual, a lot of problems over a long period of time. We have a lot of mental health problems in our country, as do other countries. But this isn’t a guns situation,” Trump said.
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