Bereaved family that lost 8 in Texas mass shooting sues U.S. military

HOUSTON, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The parents of a son who was among the 26 victims killed in a mass shooting in a Texas church earlier this month have filed two suits against the U.S. military.

According to documents obtained by local TV station on Tuesday, Joe and Claryce Holcombe accuse the U.S. Department of Defense, including the Air Force, of failing to report the criminal history of the gunman who killed people inside the small church on Nov. 5.

"These entities negligently, recklessly, carelessly and/or egregiously failed to report pertinent criminal arrest, conviction and military discharge information of the shooter into a federal database, as was required, which would have prevented and barred the shooter from purchasing, owning and/or possessing the firearms, ammunition and body armor that he used in the shooting," read the document.

The Holcombes are the parents of Bryan Holcombe, who was serving as the visiting pastor the day of the shooting. He was among eight members of the family, spanning three generations, who died.

Devin Kelley gunned down 26 people in a South Texas church in Sutherland Springs on Nov. 5, wounded another 20. Kelley was found dead inside his vehicle.

Kelley received a bad-conduct discharge from the U.S. Air Force for assaulting his wife and child, and was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

He served in Logistics Readiness at the Holloman Air Force Base in the southwestern U.S. state of New Mexico from 2010 until his discharge, U.S. Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek told media.

Stefanek also confirmed the Air Force didn't report the shooter's domestic violence conviction to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, leaving the door open for him to buy weapons. Enditem