Family That Lost 3 In Texas Shooting Sues Gun Seller

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, TX — A family that lost three members in the Sutherland Springs, Texas, massacre last month has sued a store where the gunman bought the gun used in the attack, according to a published report.

The San Antonio Express-News reported the Ward and Lookingbill family seeks $25 million in damages against a San Antonio Academy Sports & Outdoors store they say failed to follow the law in selling the Ruger AR-566 rifle Devin Patrick Kelley used to kill 26 people at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs on Nov. 5.

Joann Ward and her daughters Emily Garcia and Brooke Ward were killed in the attack. Her 5-year-old stepson, Ryland Ward, was shot five times and remains hospitalized. In the lawsuit, the family says the boy had his arm nearly amputated and sustained other extensive injuries.

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Family members argue the store should not have sold Kelley the rifle because he listed his Colorado Springs address on a firearm record form, according to the report. The suit claims the gunman's firearm purchase should have been transferred to his Colorado residence instead of enabling him to pick up the weapon in Texas.

In the shooting's wake, Academy Sports & Outdoors said they conducted the required background check when Kelley purchased the gun in the San Antonio store. Also following the shooting, the U.S. Air Force confirmed it failed to report Kelley's convictions of domestic abuse during his military stint for inclusion into an FBI database, which would have prevented him from purchasing weapons.

The Air Force also is subject to multiple lawsuits for that reporting failure. The family members now suing Academy Sports & Outdoors are being represented by the Houston-based Webster Law Firm, the newspaper reported.

>>> Read the full story at San Antonio Express-News

Photo: Law enforcement officers gather in front of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs after a fatal shooting, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Photo by Darren Abate/Associated Press