U.S. Justice Department agrees to civil settlements in Sutherland Springs mass shooting

WASHINGTON, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Wednesday an agreement in principle to settle the civil cases arising from the 2017 mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

These tentative settlements will resolve claims by more than 75 plaintiffs arising out of the shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on Nov. 5, 2017, which left 26 worshippers dead and 22 others injured.

Plaintiffs' claims alleged that the U.S. Air Force was negligent when it failed to transmit to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) information about the shooter that would have prevented him from purchasing guns from a federally licensed firearms dealer.

A federal district court in Texas concluded that the United States was liable for damages caused by the shooting, according to the DOJ. This tentative settlement would resolve the pending appeals.

The agreement in principle would settle all claims for a total of 144.5 million U.S. dollars. The settlement agreement has been approved, subject to the plaintiffs' securing the required court approvals.

"No words or amount of money can diminish the immense tragedy of the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs," U.S. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement.

"Today's announcement brings the litigation to a close, ending a painful chapter for the victims of this unthinkable crime," Gupta said.

Devin Patrick Kelley, of New Braunfels, Texas, carried out the mass shooting before killing himself.

The shooter was prohibited by law from purchasing guns due to a domestic violence conviction in a court-martial while in the U.S. Air Force.

The Air Force failed to record the conviction in a federal database, which is used by the NICS to flag prohibited purchases.