Vice President Mike Pence pledged Wednesday that the Air Force would complete an internal review “in days, not weeks” after it was discovered an error allowed the gunman who killed more than two dozen people in a Texas church over the weekend to purchase firearms.
Speaking to a gathering at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, where the mass shooting took place, Pence said he received word from Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson that the Air Force “aggressively” investigating the matter.
“I’m informed by Secretary Heather Wilson that the Air Force is moving aggressively to review why this error occurred, and that review will be completed in days, not weeks,” Pence said. “I can also report that the Department of Defense is conducting a review of its own, to ensure that the National Crime Information Center has the most up-to-date information on every branch of the armed forces.
The gunman, identified by law enforcement as Devin Patrick Kelley, should have been barred from purchasing firearms under federal law due to a bad conduct discharge he got from the Air Force after he was court-martialed in 2012 for assaulting his wife and fracturing his infant stepson’s skull. However, due to a bureaucratic error neither his arrest nor conviction were listed in the national background check database.
Kelley, armed with a semi-automatic rifle he reportedly bought last year at a sporting goods store, killed twenty-six people at the church in rural Texas outside of San Antonio.
Pence said Wednesday: “We will find out why this information was not properly reported in 2012, and we will work with leaders in Congress to ensure that this never happens again.”