The wife of the Sutherland Springs, Texas, church shooter has revealed new details about the morning of the massacre in a recent interview with the San Antonio Express-News.
Devin Kelley had tied his wife, Danielle Kelley, to a bed in their Texas home the morning of Nov. 5, 2017, before putting on a bulletproof vest, grabbing a few guns, and leaving to shoot up the First Baptist Church, she told the paper.
“He was really different, and off,” Danielle, 23, said. “Now, going back and looking at it, the things he said then — it was all messed up. ... You get a sense of what’s going to happen. Because no one just leaves in all-black attire with a ballistic vest.”
The massacre killed 25 churchgoers, including a pregnant woman and seven of her family members, as well as Danielle’s grandmother. Devin Kelley, 26, died by suicide after the shooting, one of the deadliest in modern U.S. history.
“No matter what, I will love him,” Danielle said of Devin, who left behind the couple’s two infant children. “Even though he went off and ruined more people’s lives than I could ever imagine.”
Danielle’s mother, Michelle Shields, a devoted member of First Baptist Church, appeared to have been Devin’s target in the shooting, though she wasn’t there that day, the Express-News reported.
Shields has said Devin was a controlling and abusive husband, and that her son-in-law had sent her threatening text messages prior to the attack. In 2012, Devin admitted to cracking his infant stepson’s skull during a previous marriage.
But Danielle said she had no idea Devin was capable of carrying out such an attack, despite several “red flags” through the years.
“Nobody truly knows somebody,” Danielle told the paper. “You can live with that person and love that person for years, and you still cannot truly know that person because you can’t know their inner thoughts and feelings.”
Read San Antonio Express’ full interview with Danielle Kelley on its website.