EDITORIAL: Heroes still walk among us

With all the violent evil that is going on, there are still those who are brave who stand up to it.

That was the case Sunday in the horrific shooting deaths in a small Baptist church in Texas. Twenty-six people died while trying to worship at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. Another 20 were wounded in the gunfire.

From media reports, the gunman, Devin Patrick Kelley, was a violent person who should not have been allowed to purchase the weapons he had. While a bad-conduct discharge, like the one Kelley received from the U.S. Air Force, would not have necessarily disqualified him, his court-marshal convictions for assaulting his wife and child should have and would have had the Air Force properly reported them to the law enforcement database. A dishonorable discharge also would have prevented the legal purchase of weapons.

Because the Air Force gave Kelley a bad-conduct discharge, he cleared the dishonorable discharge hurdle on the questionnaire. Because his assault convictions were not properly reported, there was no way for a seller to dispute his lie when he checked “no” on the form it asked whether he had ever been convicted in any court of a crime of domestic violence. The Air Force is investigating this lapse, and we hope all military branches and government agencies involved in reporting such things are doing the same. These types of cracks must be sealed immediately.

Kelley was able to buy the guns, including the one he used to kill members of the church congregation, including his grandmother-in-law. While authorities say Kelley had an ongoing domestic dispute, particularly with his mother-in-law, who attended the church, that doesn’t explain the hatred that he demonstrated against the congregation. His hatred certainly appears to have extended to Christians in general.

There’s no doubt that what Kelley did was a deliberate, intentional evil act. In retrospect, the signs that this could have occurred are there, though predicting the event — if the killer would act, when the killer would, how the killer would act and where the killer would act — is impossible. We might suspect that someone has a likelihood of acting violently, but without the ability to enter an individual’s mind or unless the individual slips up and makes his or her intentions known, there can be no certainty.

What was certain, however, was that two residents of the community, strangers before they met that morning, took swift action that brought Kelley to justice. Stephen Willeford told CNN affiliate KHBS that when he heard the shots Kelley was firing, he quickly realized what was happening, he grabbed his own gun and, not even taking time to put on his shoes, ran outside barefooted to confront the murderer.

According to CNN, they exchanged gunfire before Kelley jumped into his SUV to escape. Willeford saw Johnnie Langendorff in his truck and flagged him down, telling him what had happened. Together, they chased Kelley for 11 minutes, reaching speeds of 95 mph. Reports said the chase ended when Kelley crashed his SUV and shot himself. He also had been wounded by Willeford.

Neither man had any regrets for placing himself in danger. Willeford said he only wished he had reached the church sooner and perhaps saved some of the lives.

We live in a violent world. It’s a sad testament that the high school killings in Columbine, Colo., nearly two decades ago no longer rank among the 10 most deadly mass shootings in the United States. What can be done to quell the violence is a question that hasn’t had an answer since ancient times, though we must continue to look for ways to do it.

Sadly, we don’t expect this to be the last time we hear of a mass shooting, an improvised explosion or a vehicle being driven into a crowd. We have to be alert and willing to let someone know when we see signs that something is wrong. When an evil person bent on destruction arises, good people will continue to stand up on behalf of their fellow citizens. It is some comfort to know there still are heroes among us.

— The Albany Herald Editorial Board