Danielle Kelley holds her daughter, Raeleigh, as she talks with Kris Workman, who was paralyzed by a shot fired by Kelley, after the first service Kelley attended at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, since the Nov. 5 shooting, on June 17, 2018. He married Danielle Lee Shields, who came from . "He was shutting down," Danielle said. Between 2016 and 2017, authorities say, Kelley purchased two rifles and two handguns. He grew more reclusive. But he wasnt always a psychopath though., She recalled a younger Kelley who was a happy, normal and average kid. Because the real Devin would've never hurt babies. FBI officials use metal detectors to look for evidence in a Sutherland Springs field. Or Lou, my grandmother, smiling and holding the babies, saying 'Oh come on, sit over here, I saved you a spot.'". By clicking Accept all you agree that Yahoo and our partners will process your personal information, and use technologies such as cookies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights, and product development. CBS News reports he was given a dishonorable discharge and court martialed in 2014. "If I could take everything, all the pain, and hold it on my own I would, so nobody else would hurt. A woman living in a camper next door, who gave her name only as Susan, said a man of similar age and description lived in spot 60 for a few months during that time, but she never learned his name. Authorities said during a press conference Monday that Kelley was involved in some kind of domestic dispute with his relatives. First responders work at the rear of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs after a gunman attacked. He threw it up minutes later. Some of those who grew up with Devin Kelley in this sprawling city northeast of San Antonio had seen him change over the years once just an outsider, . Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. "He kept saying how sorry he was.". He was weird and narcissistic. Danielle said they complemented each other that way. Danielle would comment on how Devin's new beard made him look old. She also began to doubt her belief in God. Our family is grieving.. PredIQtion Markets. Debbie Marx, a church member, also saw Kelley at the festival with his wife and a child. Most hid under the pews. Throughout their marriage, Danielle never went anywhere alone, she said. Among the dead was Lula White, Danielle's grandmother. Investigators examine bullet holes in the front door of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Tuesday. Several hours after the shooting, Courtney Kleiber, a close friend of Kelleys from middle school through high school, wrote on Facebook, I had always known there was something off about him. After they married in 2014, Devin Kelley accompanied her everywhere. The only thing anyone seemed to notice was that he didnt talk much. He was very quiet. In the last two months, neighbors said they had heard bursts of rapid-fire shots coming from the direction of the Kelley home. Smoke filled the air. Across New Braunfels, flags flew at half-staff Monday outside churches, RV parks and gun stores. He'd wink at her flirtatiously. I've killed so many people - so, so many people,'" Danielle said. He killed himself. A LinkedIn account appearing to belong to Kelley says he served in the U.S. Air Force from his high-school graduation in 2009 until 2013. Michelle's daughter Danielle Lee Shields was married to Devin Kelley, who opened fire at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, killing 26 people and injuring more before killing himself. Others can't bear to enter the old church sanctuary, now a memorial for the dead. She could not be reached for comment. They married April 4, 2014, when she was 19 and he was 23. But in this stretch of the Texas hill country, that is common. Social media accounts show a smiling, happy woman who dotes on her children and friends. I believe in angels. A security team of congregants is equipped with guns and earpieces during services at the new, temporary church. His wife needed help, he said. A car chase ensued. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. No matter what, I will love him, Danielle said of Devin, who left behind the couples two infant children. Open Menu. Those who survived the shooting are still grappling with the aftermath. Michelle said she thinks her daughter is still under Devin's spell. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, talk with Johnnie Langendorff and his girlfriend, Summer Caddell, third from right, as they visit with first responders, family, friends and victims outside the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. "There were times when I didn't want to have to be here. He put Michael, their 2-year-old, in their bedroom. Law enforcement officers work a barricade near the First Baptist Church on Sunday. It is unclear whether his conviction would have barred him from purchasing a gun. Devin was homeschooled before attending New Braunfels High School, where he graduated in 2009. CBS News reported that Kelley has a wife named Danielle Lee Shields. Information about your device and internet connection, like your IP address, Browsing and search activity while using Yahoo websites and apps. Law enforcement officials gather near the First Baptist Church following a shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Kelley was a 26-year-old white man from New Braunfels, Texas. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. She cried for the loss of her husband and her children's father. He was very sick in the head, Kelleys former girlfriend Katy Landry told NBC News. Reports: Gunman in Texas Church Shooting Identified. Children lost their mothers. They connected over their inability to connect with the rest of the world. After the shooting in November, officials said there had been a "domestic situation" between the shooter and his mother-in-law before the massacre in which the suspect had sent the woman threatening texts. ", Case Leal, 8, of La Vernia, looks at stones, each etched with the name of one of the 26 victims, along one side of First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on May 10, 2018. She was cared for by her grandmother, Lou White. The couple slowly cut their ties to the Sutherland Springs community, where her mother was a devoted member of the First Baptist Church. The male involved is identified only as Devin in the report, which says responding deputies were told that it was a misunderstanding. Nobody truly knows somebody, Danielle told the paper. Tired of the feelings," she said. Even before they wed, there were signs of problems. (Lisa Krantz | San Antonio Express-News), Media: Lisa Krantz, San Antonio Express-News, Devin was caught sneaking weapons onto a New Mexico base. Though over the years we all saw him change into something that he wasnt. That if he found out he'd always say he's sorry the next minute, you know, so she was like 'Oh, OK, if he found out I said something he's going to get more upset so we're just going to keep it calm because he apologized," Michelle said. Daughtrey, 40, said the town was mostly uneventful, as far as crime goes. "I don't think people change," he said in the recording. Parents and grandparents shielded their children. By 2017, he had returned to a house in New Braunfels that records show was owned by his parents. I didnt notice anything particular about him, she said. "People thought he was really weird, and this awful person, but I could never see that in him," Danielle said. The gunman who killed at least 26 people in a small Texas church Sunday has been identified as 26-year-old Devin Kelley, CBS News and the New York Times reported. Devin Kelley and Danielle Lee Shields were married April 4, 2014, in Comal County. Kelley was found dead following a high-speed chase that began after he was confronted by armed neighbors and fled the scene. Then the call ended. Read. Devin stood up. On the morning of Sunday, Nov. 5, Devin Kelley asked his wife Danielle to make him a light breakfast, . "You get a sense of what's going to happen," Danielle said. Out of respect for their grief, Danielle didn't attend their funerals. ", Danielle has plans to get a tattoo. She said Devin told her he loved her, kissed their 5-month-old daughter in her crib and told their son, "I'll be right back." Its rattlesnake season in Texas. He became an atheist. You can live with that person and love that person for years, and you still cannot truly know that person because you cant know their inner thoughts and feelings., I think this is the hardest story Ive ever written.An exclusive with the wife of the Sutherland Springs gunman.https://t.co/414Vv42BYU via @expressnews. In the weeks following the shooting, Danielle said she couldn't bear to look at her. Devin was not the man she thought he was. 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Kelley, a former United States Air Force airman, was reportedly court-martialed in 2012 for assaulting his then-wife Tessa and their child. "I'm used to seeing Karla smiling, getting all excited. Danielle told only one other person about the sexual abuse: her best friend, Devin Kelley. Kelley served his sentence, which ended up being less than 12 months, at Miramar, a military prison in San Diego, California, and then returned home to New Braunfels. Facebook Working a 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift mostly alone he attracted little attention. He resented God, and the world, for not protecting them from the world's cruelties. The alleged victims identity is redacted. Shes very upset, Tessa's mother told NBC, noting that his former wife did not want to speak publicly about the situation until law enforcement had interviewed her. He seemed disengaged. Greg Abbott told ABCs Good Morning America. He was a very deranged individual, he said. "I was like 'Oh man, this guy's cute. He grabbed his rifle and two handguns, donned military-style tactical gear and body armor, then left. Michelle Shields, Danielle's mother, said in an interview earlier this year that Devin was a controlling, abusive husband and Danielle was a wife who often accepted it. I wish there was something that we would have picked up that maybe could have helped somebody else, said Claudia Varjabedian, for whom Kelley worked as a security guard at a local resort until last Saturday. Devin's Ford Expedition veered off into a ditch. Outside the Kelley familys home, police cars were parked in front of a cattle gate. She wavers between defending him and acknowledging that there were "red flags" for years. Neighbors along FM 2722 reported this week that the sound of gunshots was common in recent weeks, coming from the direction of the Kelley property, sometimes for hours. I had always known there was something off about him. And they thought Oh this is good, this is progress. And then this happened.. Tears stream down the face of Danielle Kelley as Stephen Willeford, who shot her husband and ended Kelley's massacre, prays with her after the first service Kelley attended at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, since the Nov. 5 shooting, on June 17, 2018. Following the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history, Danielle Shields was identified as the wife of alleged gunman Devin Kelley. My dogs, they would be outside, and we would hear, Bim-bam, bim-bam, bim-bam, bim-bam, he said. Gunman in church attack was convicted of fracturing stepsons Sutherland Springs gunman had a history of Air Force disciplinary problems. His family lived a comfortable, upper-middle-class life, with his father running a software company that specializes in billings. "It was like he snapped out of it," Kathleen said. I will tell you that Michelle told me last Tuesday (Oct. 31) they were so excited because he voluntarily took the grandchildren his children to the church for the fall festival, said Tambria Read, chair of the Sutherland Springs Historical Museum and a teacher at Floresville High School. Their daughter Annabelle, 14, was among the 26 people killed. But she wrote, Over the years we all saw him change into something that he wasnt. Now, going back and looking at it, the things he said then it was all messed up. The massacre killed 25 churchgoers, including a pregnant woman and seven of her family members, as well as Danielles grandmother. His parents rushed to the house and untied her from the bed. Some of those who grew up with Devin Kelley in this sprawling city northeast of San Antonio had seen him change over the years once just an outsider, he suddenly seemed hostile and argumentative. All Rights Reserved. Some congregants shake uncontrollably at loud sounds. 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