People Are Furious About What the FBI Just Said About the Texas Church Shooting

During a briefing from multiple authorities Monday, an FBI official said they are not currently investigating the Texas church shooting as an act of terror.

“At this time, we do not have a terrorism investigation open,” an official said. “The Rangers are the lead. They have the investigation and we’re supporting them.”

On Sunday morning, 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley fired at visitors of the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, killing 26 people and injuring 20 more.

Freeman Martin, an official of the Texas Department of Public Safety, insisted that a “domestic situation” is currently being investigated as the lead motive of the shooting.

“We want to get that out there that this was not racially motivated, it wasn’t over religious beliefs… There was a domestic situation going on within the family and the in-laws,” Freeman said.

He added that Kelley had been sending threatening messages to his mother-in-law, who sometimes attended the church.

But as investigators skirt around pinning terrorism as a potential motive, many Americans have expressed anger over the FBI’s refusal to label Kelley as a domestic terrorist.

Racial bias:

Some are calling out authorities for what they believe is a racial bias in how they are handling the investigation surrounding Kelley and his motive. 

Critics of the FBI spokesperson’s comments say the mass shooting, which is now the deadliest in Texas history, should be considered terrorism because of the events that unfolded and the recklessness of his crime.

But they say that rather than label Kelley as a terrorist, he gets a “pass” as a white man.

Kelley is a former U.S. Air Force member and received a dishonorable discharge in 2014, CBS News reports. He was court martialed that year. He was discharged for “bad conduct,” and was given a year in confinement. He also had his rank lowered, according to Fox News.

Kelley also reportedly posted about atheism on social media.

Domestic terror:

Others criticize the FBI for not labeling the shooter as a domestic terrorist, despite the evidence that he fired continuous rounds at visitors of a Sunday morning service inside a church. 

No visitor of the church escaped unscathed from Kelley’s fire, Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackett told CNN. He said the event killed about 4 percent of the rural town’s population.

The FBI has not referred to Kelley as such based on the Patriot Act’s definition of domestic terrorism.

The Patriot Act defines domestic terrorism as an attempt to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population; to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.”

If his crimes were motivated by a situation in his home life, the label of domestic terrorist may not apply under government standards.

Motive:

With the Patriot Act’s definition in mind, others call for a change in verbiage to include acts such as Kelley’s to be labeled as terrorism. A similar conversation began when shooter Stephen Paddock unloaded rounds of continuous gunfire on concertgoers in Las Vegas last month.

During his rampage, Kelley killed individuals ranging in age from 18 months to 72. The Wilson County Sheriff said 12-14 of those deceased were children.

Among those he killed was the church pastor’s 14-year-old daughter, as well as eight members of a single family.

Some critics focused their attention on the FBI and other authorities’ current investigation into the shooting and its suspect. They claim that even if a domestic situation was the motive, more should be investigated to understand what led to this extreme level of violence.

Others slam investigators for the type of leads they may also be following. 

On Monday, President Donald Trump spoke from Japan to issue a statement about the shooting, citing Kelley’s mental health as the main issue, CNN reports.

“Mental health is your problem here,” Trump said, adding that “based on preliminary reports” the shooter was “a very deranged individual. This isn’t a guns situation. This is a mental health problem at the highest level. It’s a very, very sad event.”

Kelley died in his getaway vehicle about 10 miles from the church. He was pursued by a neighbor of the church who heard gunshots and another man, Johnnie Langendorff, who was passing by the church when he saw Kelley and the neighbor engaging in gunfire.

Langendorff and the neighbor chased Kelley at speeds of 95 mph when Kelley began veering over the road. He hit a road sign and guard rail before stopping. Police found Kelley dead of what seems to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.