People who knew the Texas church gunman remembered him as 'crazy' and 'kind of off'

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People who knew the Texas church gunman remembered him as 'crazy' and 'kind of off'

sutherland springs church shooting

AP/Darren Abate

Mourners participate in a candlelight vigil held for the victims of a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

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  • Devin Patrick Kelley killed at least 26 people at a Texas church on Sunday.
  • People who knew him remembered him as "crazy" and "kind of off."
  • Some said that Kelley was an outspoken atheist in high school.


Former friends, classmates, and neighbors of the gunman who opened fire in a Texas church on Sunday, killing at least 26 people, remembered him as "crazy," "weird," and "kind of off."

Kelley, 26, was found dead after fleeing the scene of the shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

As news of the shooting spread, details about Kelley quickly emerged - that he was from the nearby town of New Braunfels, that he served in the Air Force, that he received a bad conduct discharge for assault on his wife and child.

devin kelley high school

Facebook/Emily Robb

A picture of Devin Kelley in high school.

Memories from people who interacted with Kelley are now giving a clearer picture about the gunman.

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"He was different in school and creeped me out but never would I have thought he would do such a horrific thing," a former classmate of Kelley's from New Braunfels High School posted on Facebook.

"It's scary to know this psychopath has been in my house," a former friend of Kelley's wrote. "I can't believe I was friends with this guy and I literally would stay the night at his place when we were kids."

"I ended up distancing myself from him in high school after he got in an argument with me in school and he tried punching me several times," the friend continued. "Dude was crazy man."

Another former classmate, Emily Robb, told Business Insider that "he was goofy, awkward and not the best in social situations."

One woman, who gave her name as Susan, told The New York Times she briefly lived next door to Kelley in a Colorado Springs RV park.

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"He was kind of off, lived here with a woman," she told The Times.

Other people who knew Kelley remembered him for his apparent atheism, which investigators are treating as a possible lead to explain his choice of target on Sunday.

"He was always talking about how people who believe in God were stupid and trying to preach his atheism," a former classmate wrote on Facebook.

"He was the first atheist I met," another former classmate, Patrick Boyce, told The Daily Mail. "He had a kid or two, fairly normal, but kinda quiet and lately seemed depressed."

"I was just shocked [to hear the news]. Still haven't quite processed how he could have done that."

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