The Texas Supreme Court dismissed four lawsuits filed by survivors and families of those killed during the 2017 mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs. It ruled on Friday that the retailer selling the rifle had carried out the necessary background checks against disgraced retired Air Force members. It was later used to shoot 26 people.
Academy Sports + Outdoors can’t be sued for mass shootings in 2017 under the Federal Protection Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, passed by Congress in 2005 to protect firearms retailers and manufacturers from lawsuits. from third-party criminal acts According to a comment submitted Friday by Justice Debra H. Lehrmann.
On November 5, 201
7, Devin Kelley entered the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs holding a Model 8500 Ruger AR-556 semi-automatic rifle equipped with a detachable 30-round magazine. He killed 26 people and wounded 20 others, according to word. Texas Supreme Court decisionSUTHERLAND SPRINGS CHURCH HERO Speaks at VIRGINIA GUN Rally: It’s More About ‘Control’ Than Safety
Kelley purchased the rifle, which is loaded with a 30-round magazine manufactured by Magpul Industries Corp., from the Academy store in San Antonio on April 7, 2016. As part of that sale transaction, Kelley acquired an additional 30-round Magpul. Magazines sold separately.
The ruling pointed out that Kelly reporting a Colorado address and showing the Colorado code when purchasing a rifle spurred certain requirements set by the federal Gun Control Act to sell firearms to out-of-state residents. educational institutions “Properly executed in accordance with ATF Form 4473, which Kelley completed under penalty of perjury at the time of the sale,” Lehrmann wrote.
The Academy also conducts the necessary background checks for Kelley through the National Instant Criminal Background Check system, according to the judgment.
“Although federal law disqualifies Kelley from buying firearms while selling – partly due to his conviction in a court-martial in 2012 for assaulting his wife and stepson and his discharge from the Air Force. United States uncertified information not in the system This allows the academy to ‘continue’ with the sale,” Lehmann wrote. “Prosecutions against the Air Force for failing to collect, manage and report the necessary information continue in federal court.”
Kelly was found guilty of assaulting his wife and stepson. and was dishonorably discharged in 2012. But Air Force officials have failed to report their confidence to the FBI’s background check system despite the requirement to do so.
Pranking parents at PARKLAND School, the former president of the Tsuchiya, to fake a speech when they graduated from high school.
Survivors and families of shooting victims argued that under the Federal Gun Control Act, the “sale, delivery, and receipt” of weapons must comply with the laws of both Texas, state of sale, and Colorado. complete , the state where the buyer resides
Because Colorado laws prohibit the sale or possession of magazines with a capacity of 15 rounds or more, they allege that the package containing the rifle and magazine cannot be legally sold in Colorado. Therefore, sales are in violation of federal law. Lehrmann disagrees, arguing that sales are legal because federal law applies only to firearm sales. Not a component, according to Austin American-Statesman.
After opening fire at the church The shooter eventually kills himself after an armed confrontation with Stephen Wilford, who is regarded as a hero and “Good people with guns,” according to the Houston Chronicle Willeford, a certified firearms instructor. Gunfire was reportedly heard from his nearby home, picked up an AR-15 from his gun cabinet and ran to the church, which injured Kelley in a short shot.
Kelley jumped into his car, Willeford and another man chased after him. Kelly shot herself with a pistol. officials said
The shooting was denounced as the worst in Texas history at the time.
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Days after the 2017 shooting, U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, addressed the Senate about the need for legislation supporting the national immediate criminal background check system. He later introduced amendments to the NICS Act, which was eventually signed into law and empowered government agencies to formulate plans for record submissions and penalize agencies for noncompliance, KWTX reported.
Danielle Wallace is a digital reporter for Fox News and FOX Business. Follow her on Twitter at @danimwallace. If you have a tip You can email her at danielle.wallace@fox.com.
