The Texas church shooting suspect’s friends and schoolmates say that 26-year-old gunman Devin Patrick Kelley “seemed off” in recent years.
After the tragic attack in which 26 people were killed and dozens more were injured, several New Braunfels High School grads took to social media to describe Kelley.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Up Next: Authorities Have Obtained Video From Inside the Texas Church
On Sunday, classmate Courtney Kleiber wrote that she was “close” with Kelley in middle school and high school. She explained how Kelley’s behavior and personality changed in the years that she knew him.
“I had always known there was something off about him,” Kleiber wrote, according to Huffington Post. “He use[d] to be happy at one point, normal, your average kid… Over the years we all saw him change into something that he wasn’t.”
“To be completely honest, I’m really not surprised this happened, and I don’t think anyone who knew him is very surprised either,” she continued. “My heart goes out to all of the victims that should’ve never been.”
Kelley stormed the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs on Sunday wearing black tactical gear and a ballistic vest. During a prayer service around 11:30 a.m., Kelley opened fire on churchgoers with what a weapon that was described as a “Ruger AR assault-type rifle.”
More: Texas Governor Abbot Speaks out About the Texas Church Shooter
At this time, the authorities suspect that the attack was the result of a “domestic situation” with Kelley’s wife and her parents.
Freeman Martin, regional director for the Texas Department of Public Safety, spoke out about the shooting, which is the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history, during a news conference Monday.
“It’s a senseless crime, but we can tell you that there was a domestic situation going on within this family,” Martin said. “The suspect’s mother-in-law attended this church. We know that he had made threatening texts.”
