Defense

Military Only Reported One Kelley-Like Crime To FBI’s Gun Background Check System

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Saagar Enjeti White House Correspondent
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The U.S. military has reported only one misdemeanor domestic violence case to the FBI’s background check system widely used by sellers of firearms.

FBI NICS Records

The NICS index is valid until Dec 31, 2016 and is coming under increased scrutiny following the killing of 26 Sutherland Springs, Texas parishioners Sunday by former Air Force enlisted man Devin Kelley.

Kelly was convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence by the Air Force in 2012 after he badly beat his wife and fractured his stepson’s skull. He served a year in military prison before receiving a bad conduct discharge from the service.

U.S. law dictates that any conviction of domestic violence or dishonorable discharge within the U.S. military must be reported to the FBI NICS system to prevent future firearms purchases. Kelley’s conviction was never reported to the FBI’s NICS system. The U.S. Air Force admitted that the unit in charge of reporting Kelley’s conviction failed to do so, in a Monday evening statement.

“Initial information indicates that Kelley’s domestic violence offense was not entered into the National Criminal Information Center database by the Holloman Air Force Base Office of Special Investigations,” Air Force Spokesman Ann Stefanek noted in a Monday evening statement, similarly noting that an entire “comprehensive review” was undergoing across Air Force databases “to ensure records in other cases have been reported correctly.”

Stefanek added that “The Air Force has also requested that the Department of Defense Inspector General review records and procedures across the Department of Defense.” The absolute vast majority of cases reported to NICS by the U.S. military have been dishonorable discharges, numbering approximately 11,000 as of Dec 31, 2016.

“The Department of Defense (DoD) submits all Dishonorable Discharges to the NICS Indices for the Air Force, as well as for the Army, Navy, and Marines. DoD submits these monthly. As of 10/31/2017, there were 11,189 Dishonorable Discharge entries made by the DoD. As of 11/6/17, there are 2,248 Dishonorable Discharge entries and 1 Mental Health entry from the Air Force within the NICS Indices. The DoD also has 1 entry for a felony conviction and 1 for Mental Health,” FBI Spokesman Stephen G. Fischer Jr. said in a statement to The Daily Caller News Foundation.

House Armed Services Committee chairman Mac Thornberry called the Air Force’s error “appalling” adding his worry that the problem may be “systemic.”

Kelley purchased four weapons after his conviction and sentence, two in Colorado and two in Texas. He was denied a concealed carry license in Texas for unclear reasons. The weapon used in the course of the shooting was legally purchased from a sporting goods store in Texas in April 2016.

WATCH: MILITARY FAILS TO REPORT CRIMINALS TO THE FBI

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