{"id":117035,"date":"2020-11-08T13:27:13","date_gmt":"2020-11-08T18:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=117035"},"modified":"2020-11-08T13:27:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T05:25:04","slug":"the-humble-heroes-of-sutherland-springs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-humble-heroes-of-sutherland-springs\/","title":{"rendered":"The Humble Heroes of Sutherland Springs & the Guns of the Most Deadly Church Massacre"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The
Real superheroes don\u2019t wear spandex. On November 5, 2017, the real superhero was taking a nap. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In November of 2017, Stephen Willeford worked as a plumber at the children\u2019s hospital in San Antonio, Texas. He lived in Sutherland Springs, population 600, about an hour away. The commute was onerous, but Stephen was a small-town sort of guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Trained as a plumber, Stephen Willeford was just a regular guy. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stephen was, like many of us, just a responsible American who enjoyed shooting. He was an NRA certified firearms instructor and member of the nearby Church of Christ. On Sunday morning November 5, 2017, however, he was facing a long week on call at the University Hospital. As a result, he played hooky from his own church to take a nap. He lived with his family across the street from the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Monster Among\nUs<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Something about Devin Kelley just wasn\u2019t wired correctly. Trouble followed him everywhere. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Devin Patrick Kelley was the antithesis\nof Stephen Willeford. Devin Kelley was a card-carrying professional loser.\nRaised in New Braunfels some 35 miles away, Kelley was suspended seven times\nduring high school for infractions ranging from insubordination and profanity\nto drug offenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Kelley spent time in an inpatient behavioral health facility due to his persistent criminal and antisocial behavior. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kelley enlisted in the Air Force in 2009\nupon graduation from high school. Three years later he was charged with\nassaulting his wife and fracturing his toddler stepson\u2019s skull. He\nthreatened the charging officer with physical violence and was admitted to an\ninpatient behavioral health treatment facility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Tessa Brennaman, Kelley\u2019s first wife, lived in constant fear of him. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

His wife later reported that he had held a loaded handgun to her head and waterboarded her over stuff like speeding tickets. They divorced in short order. In 2014 after a fairly long trek through the military justice system, Kelley was separated from the Air Force with a bad conduct discharge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Danielle was Devin\u2019s second wife. They married after he returned home from the Air Force. Danielle\u2019s family was a regular part of FBC Sutherland Springs. Devin had a fulminant relationship with his mother-in-law. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Leaving the military did little to improve\nKelley\u2019s rancid disposition. He was investigated for assault and rape within\nmonths of his arrival back in Texas. In 2014 Kelley married a high school\nfriend whose family attended the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arming the Animal<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Kelley was not legally authorized to own firearms, yet he easily acquired them due to the systemic failure of a variety of flawed gun control mechanisms. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The nature of Kelley\u2019s discharge from\nthe military and his domestic violence history should have prevented his\npassing the background check required to buy a gun, but this information was\nnot entered into the NICS system. As a result, Kelley lied on a variety of official\nforms and bought weapons through legal channels. He even landed a job as a\nsecurity guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Kelley bought an EAA revolver (like this one) legally at Holloman Air Force Base. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kelley bought a SIG SAUER P250 and European American Armory Windicator .38 revolver at the Base Exchange at Holloman Air Force Base. In April of 2016, he falsified his 4473 at an Academy Sports store in San Antonio and purchased a Ruger AR-556 rifle. Along the way, he also accumulated a Glock 19 9mm, a Ruger SR22 pistol, and a Ruger GP100 .357 Magnum revolver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Massacre<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
At some point, darkness took complete control of this man. Family members said later it was as though he was possessed. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At 11:20 am Kelley exited his Ford Explorer outside FBC Sutherland Springs wearing black fatigues and body armor as well as a facemask adorned with a skull. He shot two parishioners outside the church before pushing his way into the sanctuary. Over the next 11 minutes, Kelley expended about 700 rounds. Police later found fifteen empty rifle magazines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Stephen Willeford\u2019s daughter, Stephanie, alerted her father to the noise across the street. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Willeford\u2019s oldest daughter,\nStephanie, woke him up to tell him she thought she heard gunshots. Stephen\u2019s first thought was\nthat somebody was tapping on his bedroom window. When he went into the living\nroom he recognized the sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Like many of us, Stephen did not keep loaded magazines for his weapons. He had to snap a few rounds into a mag on the fly. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rushing to his gun safe, Willeford thumbed a few cartridges into a magazine and grabbed his favorite AR15, a homebuilt parts gun he had customized himself. Stephen ran out of the house and headed for the church, the sounds of gunfire growing louder. He directed his daughter to go back and load magazines. He admitted later that this was just to keep her out of danger. Stephen Willeford was barefoot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Stephen\u2019s wife, Pam, begged him not to go to the church. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As Stephen crossed the 150 yards to the\nchurch he called his wife. She was on the other side of town helping another\ndaughter drywall their house. He told them to stay put and avoid the church. As\nhe hung up the phone his wife was shouting, \u201cDon\u2019t go over there!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Firefight<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Stephen Willeford wasn\u2019t a cop or a soldier. He asserts that God guided his actions that fateful day. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As he approached the church Stephen heard\nthe carnage inside. He involuntarily screamed, \u201cHey!\u201d as loud as he could,\nviolating every tactical dictum about what to do when approaching a violent crime\nin progress. He tells people now that, \u201cIt was the Holy\nSpirit calling the demon out of the church.\u201d This was the precise\nmoment the slaughter inside FBC Sutherland Springs stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Willeford responded as he had trained, shooting Kelley twice in the chest with his customized AR15 rifle. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Devin Kelley somehow heard Willeford\u2019s shout and left\nthe church to investigate. Upon seeing Stephen with a gun he fired three rounds,\nstriking a Dodge Challenger, a nearby house, and the Dodge Ram Willeford was\nusing for cover. Stephen steadied his holographic reticle on the man\u2019s chest and stroked\nthe trigger twice. Kelley dropped his rifle but was not otherwise inconvenienced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Willeford realized that he was going to have to shoot around Kelley\u2019s plates. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On a certain primal level, Stephen now recognized that Kelley was wearing body armor. As the shooter made for his vehicle, Willeford got his angle and shot the monster once underneath his arm and again in the thigh. As Kelley roared away in his Explorer, Willeford estimated where his head should be and blew out the vehicle\u2019s windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chase<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Johnnie Langendorff was at the right place at the right time to help bring Devin Kelley\u2019s rampage to an end. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

27-year-old Johnnie Langendorff had\ndriven down from Seguin, 30 minutes away, to visit his girlfriend. Willeford, a\nstranger to him, ran up to his truck carrying a rifle and said, \u201cThat guy just shot\nup the church. We need to stop him.\u201d Langendorff\nunlocked his doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Willeford and Langendorff had never met before they joined forces to run Devin Kelley down. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The two men chased Kelley for about six\nmiles, passing several cars and topping 90 miles per hour. They kept the 911\ndispatcher on the phone updating their location. Willeford had two rounds\nremaining. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Willeford and Langendorff\u2019s pursuit drove Kelley away from inhabited areas and into a farmer\u2019s field where he ultimately took his own wretched miserable life. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kelley stopped his truck and Willeford moved to exit the vehicle. Kelley then sped off again, this time swerving erratically from blood loss before tearing through a fence and coming to a stop in a nearby field. The cops arrived soon thereafter. Devin Kelley called his parents expressing extreme remorse and then shot himself in the head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guns<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The Ruger AR-556 is a rack grade direct gas AR rifle. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Ruger AR-556 is an entry-level direct\ngas impingement version of Gene Stoner\u2019s classic black\nrifle introduced in 2014. The AR-556 followed on the heels of Ruger\u2019s previous\npiston-driven SR-556. The SR-556 was an exceptional firearm, but it cost nearly\n$2000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Kelley had customized his AR-556 with Magpul furniture and a red dot sight. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The AR-556 is a no-frills AR designed to\ncompete with similar weapons such as the S&W M&P15 Sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Devin Kelley bought his Glock 19 through commercial sources after lying on his Form 4473. To presuppose that criminals will obey the administrative rules concerning gun ownership borders upon insanity. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Glock 19 is a mid-size 9mm combat pistol that has seen widespread distribution. Sporting the familiar Glock Safe Action striker-fired trigger system and a 15-round magazine, the G19 is employed by the military, civilian, and Law Enforcement users pretty much anyplace folks wield guns. The G19 offers a chassis that is small enough to conceal yet large enough to control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Ruger GP100 revolver was introduced in 1985. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Ruger GP100 is a rugged double-action magnum revolver. Available in a variety of chamberings with barrels between three and six inches long, the GP100 employs a transfer bar ignition system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
I presume this is the rifle Willeford used to stop Devin Kelley\u2019s murderous rampage. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t ascertain any definitive\nspecifics about Stephen\u2019s gun. The most probable photograph I\ncould find showed a direct gas impingement AR sporting Magpul furniture, an\nEOTech Holosight, and a tactical light along with a magwell adaptor. As the AR15\nis the most modular firearm ever created it lends itself to customization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruminations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
To imagine that some law or rule was going to miraculously transform this genuine piece of work into a model citizen represents magical thinking. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Much hay has been made over the fact that\nDevin Kelley was able to buy his guns through commercial sources. Really? Does\nany rational person actually believe that his failing a NICS check could have\nsomehow stopped this perennial loser psychopath from shooting up that church? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Sutherland Springs massacre was the fifth deadliest mass shooting in American history. It all appeared to be Devin Kelley\u2019s failed attempt to get back at his mother-in-law. She was not at the church at the time and was otherwise physically unharmed. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It appeared that Kelley\u2019s sole motivation\nwas to settle a squabble with his wife\u2019s family. Among the\n26 dead were 9 children, one of whom was unborn. Another 20 worshippers were\nwounded. Sutherland Springs was the worst church shooting in American history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Pastor Frank Pomeroy was not present that Sunday but tragically lost his daughter in the attack. He announced as I was putting this article together that he was running for the Texas State Senate. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The pastor at FBC Sutherland Springs was\nFrank Pomeroy. Frank typically carried a firearm during services. However, he\nwas away with his wife on November 7th. His 14-year-old daughter was among the\nvictims. Visiting pastor Bryan Holcombe died along with eight of his family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
True heroism is ordinary people doing extraordinary things. These guys were thrown together by fate to thwart a madman. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Willeford and Johnnie Langendorff\nare archetypal American heroes. Quiet, humble, and selfless, these guys did\nwhatever it took to stop a monster rampaging through their little Texas town.\nWilleford had no military or LEO experience yet said he had trained all his life\nfor that moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
It\u2019s not hard to perceive spiritual forces behind the horrible events at FBC Sutherland Springs. Willeford sees himself as God\u2019s instrument to stop the carnage. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A committed Christian, Stephen attributes\nhis success to God\u2019s Providence. Given the inevitable state\nof Devin Kelley\u2019s ears after firing 700 rounds inside an\nenclosed building, it does make one wonder how he could have otherwise heard\nWilleford\u2019s shout outside the church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Out of tragedy pours grace. The man who stopped the massacre and the killer\u2019s widow both worship together among the body of believers so traumatized by Devin Kelley\u2019s actions. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Willeford moved his church\nmembership to FBC Sutherland Springs. Danielle Kelley, Devin Kelley\u2019s widow, worships\nwith them as well. This ravaged church has welcomed her with open arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Stephen Willeford put his years of experience on the range to use when he stopped a psychopath. This sordid tale is fraught with lessons to be learned by responsible American gun owners. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I finished typing this piece I went\ndownstairs and stuffed two PMAGs with sixty rounds of M855 62-grain ammo. Those\ntwo magazines will still work long after I don\u2019t. I also stashed a\nspare pair of shoes nearby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Stephen Willeford is an American gun enthusiast who risked everything to save his friends and neighbors. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Law Enforcement investigators seized Willeford\u2019s rifle for a time during the subsequent investigation. A prominent black rifle manufacturer gave him this one as a replacement. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Real superheroes don\u2019t wear spandex. On November 5, 2017, the real superhero was taking a nap. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":117060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,772],"tags":[1854,132,102,752,1965],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-117035","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gunsamerica-authors","8":"category-will-dabbs","9":"tag-2nd-amendment","10":"tag-buzz","11":"tag-feature-articles","12":"tag-historical-guns","13":"tag-mass-shooting"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Humble Heroes of Sutherland Springs & the Guns of the Most Deadly Church Massacre<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Humble Heroes of Sutherland Springs & the Guns of the Most Deadly Church Massacre - Will Dabbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-humble-heroes-of-sutherland-springs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Humble Heroes of Sutherland Springs & the Guns of the Most Deadly Church Massacre\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Real superheroes don\u2019t wear spandex. 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However, shooting guns and claiming it was work seemed like a pretty sweet hustle. As a result, Will serendipitously transformed an avocation into a vocation. Raised in the Mississippi Delta, Will flew UH1H, OH58A\\\/C, CH47D and AH1S helicopters operationally as an Army Aviator. He is SCUBA-qualified and has parachuted out of perfectly good airplanes at 3 o'clock in the morning. Will has summited Mount McKinley, Alaska, six times\u2026always at the controls of an Army helicopter, which is the only way sensible folk climb mountains. Will has delivered sixty babies and occasionally wrung human blood out of his socks. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has three awesome adult children. 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