The mother-in-law of the gunman who fatally shot more than two dozen worshipers at a Texas church has spoken out about her anguish at bringing the devil to the door of her congregation.
Michelle Shields learned of the massacre just minutes after shooter Devin Patrick Kelley stormed the First Baptist Church in Southerland Springs, Texas on November 5, she revealed in an interview published on Tuesday in the San Antonio Express-News.
Her daughter Danielle called her frantic with worry that morning, after getting a phone call from her husband Kelley, 26, as he lay dying from a hero Good Samaritan’s bullets to tell her he had done ‘something horrible’ and didn’t think he’d make it.
Now Shields has revealed the diabolical, controlling personality of her son-in-law in the months leading up to the shooting, and the signs she fears she missed.
‘I still feel responsible. I feel responsible for trying to reach out and try to bring him closer to the Lord,’ Shields said in the interview, her voice shaking with grief. ‘Because I feel like all I did was bring the devil closer to our church.’
Michelle Shields embraces a friend after the service in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs on Sunday. She has spoken out about her shooter son-in-law
Church shooter Devin Patrick Kelley (left) was obsessive and controlling with Shields’ daughter Danielle (right), keeping his mother-in-law from seeing their newborn baby for six months
Moments after killing 26 in the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church, Kelley called Danielle as he lay dying from a hero citizen’s bullets, telling her he had done ‘something awful’
Six months before the shooting, Kelley, who had a history of domestic violence, sent a series of enraged texts to his mother-in-law.
He told her he would ‘destroy your entire life’ if she came to the hospital where her daughter was giving birth to the couple’s second child.
‘I suggest you don’t test my resolve,’ read one of several texts to Shields. In another, ‘You think this is a (expletive) game? It’s not.’
Shields said she heeded Kelley’s warning and stayed away from the hospital where her daughter Danielle was giving birth.
‘I wasn’t going to disobey. I didn’t want to disrespect because I don’t know where the anger would have gone from there,’ Shields told the newspaper.
‘If he would have forbidden us from seeing her permanently, or where he would take my daughter. So we just didn’t go in.’
Wearing her mother’s sweater, Michelle Shields sits in the new temporary sanctuary for First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, where she has been a member since 2004
After Danielle (left) gave birth, Shields says Kelley (right) became obsessive and controlling, making her speak to her mother on speakerphone and hanging up if he disliked what was said
Neighbors pray at a memorial near the First Baptist Church the day after the shooting
After the baby was born, Shields didn’t see Kelley or her daughter until a fall festival held at the church five days before the shooting.
Witnesses at the fall festival have said that Kelley was dressed in all black and acting strangely, prompting them to keep a cautious eye on him.
‘We walked around and talked and enjoyed everything, and ate some food together. And he went walking around without us. Which I didn’t think anything of, I thought he was just letting me and Danielle have time with the baby,’ said Shields.
Looking back, she now thinks that Kelley may have been plotting his next move.
The following week, Kelley killed 25 people at the church. Authorities put the toll at 26 because one of the victims was pregnant. Another 20 were injured. One of those killed was Shields’ mother.
Kelley died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after he was shot and chased by two men, now regarded as heroes, who heard the gunfire at the church.
Investigators have said the attack appeared to stem from a domestic dispute involving Kelley and Shields, who sometimes attended services at the church but wasn’t there the day of the shooting. The investigation is ongoing.
An aerial photo showing the site of the mass shooting the day after Kelley killed 26
The route taken by Kelley after he was confronted and subsequently chased by two heroes
A trail of violence seemed to follow Kelley for years.
In New Mexico, he was kicked out of the Air Force following a court-martial in 2012 for abusing his first wife and reportedly hitting her child hard enough to fracture his skull. In Colorado, he was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty after someone saw him punch a dog several times.
And in Texas, sheriff’s deputies were called to his parents’ house after his girlfriend told a friend he was abusing her.
Shields said over the course of their short marriage, Kelley made her daughter turn on the speakerphone so he could listen in when they spoke. If he didn’t like what was being said, he made her hang up.
‘You had to walk on egg shells around him all the time because you’re afraid of saying something to upset him,’ Shields said.
Looking back, Shields wants to warn other parents not to let their children slip away in a troubling relationship.
‘I want people to never lose contact with their children, because you never know what’s going on in their relationship. Just stay focused on their lives,’ she said.
You don’t have to pry into their lives, but just let them know that you’re there and you love them,’ Shields continued.
‘That way if they are ever in a relationship like this, they know that they can always turn to a parent or friend. And Danielle knew that, but she was afraid, I think. Just let them know not to be afraid.’
A TIMELINE OF TEXAS CHURCH SHOOTER’S HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
1991
- February: Devin Patrick Kelley is born in New Braunfels, Texas, the son of Michael and Rebecca Kelley, owners of a software company.
2009
- For two months in 2009, 18-year-old Kelley dates 13-year-old Brittany Adcock. ‘At the time I didn’t think much into it being so young but now I realize that there’s something off about someone who is 18 with someone who is 13,’ Kelley’s ex told NBC News. The now 22-year-old says after she broke up with him, Kelley desperately tried to get her back by any means necessary – in one case offering to pay her to live with him and his wife as a topless maid.
- Spring: Kelley graduates from New Braunfels High School.
2010
- Enlists in the Air Force and is assigned to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico where he works moving passengers, cargo and personal property in military transportation.
2011
- April 14: Marries Tessa K. Loge in Comal County, Texas.
2012
- June 7: Escapes from a mental hospital in Santa Theresa, New Mexico. He is caught by police officers just over the state line in El Paso, Texas, and is returned to the hospital. A witness told police that Kelley ‘suffered from mental disorders’ and ‘was attempting to carry out death threats’ against his military superiors. The witness also said that Kelley had already been caught sneaking firearms onto his Air Force base.
- October 15: Tessa Kelley files for divorce. In paperwork associated with the divorce, she said she was working at Taco Bell for $7.50 an hour while Devin Kelley was in military detention for domestic violence charges. It’s unclear when exactly he was arrested.
- November 7: Kelley faces court martial for abusing his wife and 11-month-old step-son. According to court martial documents, Kelley pleaded guilty to chocking his wife, pulling her hair, kicking her and striking her. He also admitted to striking his step-son with ‘force likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm’. The Air Force’s former chief prosecutor, Don Christensen, told The New York Times that Kelley fractured the child’s skull. The abuse happened between April 27, 2011 and April 27, 2012. Kelley is also accused in the trial of threatening his wife with a gun on multiple occasions between January 1, 2012 and and April 20, 2012, but he pleads not guilty and these charges are dropped. Kelley is sentenced to 12 months confinement in a military prison, demotion to the lowest rank of E-1, and a bad discharge.
2013
- Kelley is investigated for rape and sexual assault in New Braunfels. No charges were ever filed in the case.
2014
- February: Cops are called to Kelley’s parents’ home in New Braunfels, Texas after 10pm one night, after his girlfriend, 19-year-old Danielle Shields, texts a girl friend a message indicating that ‘her boyfriend was abusing her’ and that ‘her arms were red’. Shields said Kelley had ‘told her to pack a bag,’ according to the report. When sheriff’s deputies arrived, people at the home said there was a ‘misunderstanding’. It doesn’t make clear who spoke to deputies. No arrests were made.
- April 4: Kelley marries to Shields, according to Comal County, Texas records. He is 23 years old at the time.
- April 10: Kelley is kicked out of the Air Force with a bad discharge, but administrators forget to put his name in an FBI database used to conduct background checks on citizens looking to buy a firearm. This same year, he buys the first of four guns that police recover in their investigation into the church shooting.
- Moves to a mobile home park in Colorado Springs, Texas, where he registers to vote.
- August: A neighbor calls police after witnessing Kelley strike his husky puppy in the face with a closed fist several times. Another neighbor says Kelley grabbed the puppy, threw it into the air, then onto the ground and dragged it to his camper. Kelley refuses to come out of his trailer when police arrive on the scene, leading to an hour-long standoff. He eventually comes out and is taken into custody on a charge of misdemeanor animal cruelty. According to local court records, he was given a deferred probationary sentence and ordered to pay $368 in restitution. A protection order was also issued against him in 2015 on behalf of the local Humane Society, according to court records.
- December 2014: Buys a Glock 9mm handgun from Specialty Sports in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
2015
- Buys another gun from Specialty Sports in Colorado Springs. It’s unclear what type of gun was bought during this visit to the Colorado Springs store.
2016
- April: Bought the Ruger AR-556 rifle he used in the church shooting from an Academy Sports store in San Antonio, according to CNN. He listed a Colorado Springs, Colorado address when he bought the gun.
2017
- At some point this year, Kelley and his wife move in his with parents in New Braunfels, Texas.
- Buy another gun police found after the shooting, this one from a different Academy Sports branch in San Antonio.
- June: Obtains a state private security license to work as a security guard at the Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels, but is fired after less than six weeks.
- He was then was hired as a security guard at the Summit Vacation Resort, also in New Braunfels. A manager there, Claudia Varjabedian, told the AP that Kelley ‘seemed like a nice guy’ and didn’t cause her any problems.
- Some point before the shooting, starts sending his mother-in-law Michelle Shields threatening text messages.
- November 5: Opens fire during Sunday morning service at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, where his in-laws worship. The Shields family are not present during the attack. Twenty-six people are killed and 20 wounded before Kelley commits suicide.
