The military failed to notify federal gun background-check databases of several dozen service members convicted of serious crimes, according to preliminary findings from a recent U.S. Air Force review.
Air Force officials said the error in the case of former airman Devin Kelley, who fatally shot 26 people at a church in Texas earlier this month, was not the only one, and their review has found “similar reporting lapses in other locations.”
The review entails looking at approximately 60,000 incidents that have been documented since 2002 and whether they were shared.
“The error in the Kelley case was not an isolated incident and similar reporting lapses occurred at other locations,” the Air Force said in a statement. “Although policies and procedures requiring reporting were in place, training and compliance measures were lacking.”
Kelley was able to obtain two guns despite having been convicted of assaulting his then-wife and stepson in 2012. The Air Force personnel at Kelley’s base in New Mexico failed to report his court-martial to the FBI, which would have prevented him from buying the weapons.
According to the Air Force, the reporting failure in Kelley’s case was by Office of Special Investigation officials and Air Force security force personnel at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.
The Air Force cautioned the review by the inspector general’s office is still months away from being completed. Even so, the Air Force said measures have already been taken to make sure unreported convictions have been reported.
