DOJ Reaches ‘Tentative Agreement' to Settle Civil Cases Tied to Sutherland Springs Massacre for $144.5M

The Department of Justice has tentatively agreed to pay $144.5 million to settle civil cases tied to the 2017 massacre in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

Attorneys for the victims say the agreement still needs to be approved by the courts and Attorney General Merrick Garland. Jamal Alsaffar, the lead trial attorney for the victims, said he believes that will happen and will be the end of a long court battle.

"It means a small measure of closure for these families who have gone through not only the most horrific event in their life, but have also endured five years of fighting in court and fighting for the right thing, and I think this provides that measure of relief," said Alsaffar who called the Sutherland Springs families "heroes" for having endured and won two trials against the federal government and get justice to make the system safer.

More than two dozen people were killed in November 2017 when a gunman opened fire during a Sunday service at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. The gunman, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after being shot and chased by two men who heard the gunfire at the church, had served in the Air Force before the attack. In all, 26 people were killed in the shooting and another 22 were injured. Victims were churchgoers as young as five and as old as 72.

The settlement comes after U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez said in July 2021 that the U.S. Air Force was partially liable for the attack for failing to flag a 2012 conviction for domestic violence and a subsequent court martial that would have prevented the gunman from buying a weapon.

"This is a historic case and historic finding, perhaps for the first time relating to a mass shooting, that dangerous people shouldn't get guns and when you report them to the background check system, that the background check system works," said Alsaffar.

Rodriguez ordered the U.S. government to pay more than $230 million in damages, but the DOJ appealed the judge's decision. The tentative agreement announced Wednesday, if approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland and if approved by the court, would resolve all claims tied to the shooting for $144.5 million.

"My clients are relieved that this is coming to a conclusion. Do we wish that the government would have agreed to pay the amount awarded in the judgment? Yes, but the nature of litigation is that appeals are filed and parties have to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of continuing to defend against the government's appeal. Just like the government had to evaluate the decision to pursue the appeal, and people made decisions that it was in the best interest to go ahead and reach this agreement," explained Brett Reynolds, a San Antonio attorney representing 11 of the victims.

U.S. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said the settlement not only brings the litigation to a close but also ends, "a painful chapter for the victims of this unthinkable crime.”

The plaintiffs, which include survivors of the shooting and relatives of the victims, said if information about the gunman's criminal history had been transmitted to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) it would have prevented him from purchasing guns from a federally licensed firearms dealer.

According to court transcripts cited by NBC News, lawyers representing the U.S. government argued that even if the gunman's information had been shared with NICS he would have found another way to get a gun and commit the shooting.

When lawsuits are filed against federal agencies or programs, they are defended by attorneys with the Justice Department, which has separate divisions for criminal prosecutions and other responsibilities.

In June 2021, the Texas Supreme Court tossed out a lawsuit against Academy Sports and Outdoors for selling the gunman the Ruger AR-556 semi-automatic rifle used in the attack, citing the U.S. Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act which protects retailers from lawsuits arising from criminal acts by third parties.

Those who survived the mass shooting are still having to live with the trauma and also continue to recover from their injuries.

“One of my clients who is the worship leader and remains the worship team leader is a paraplegic who was shot at the base of the spine and is confined to a wheelchair. Although he certainly doesn't consider himself confined, but he has ongoing medical needs and will have them for the remainder of his life because he's paralyzed from the waist down," explained Reynolds. “I have another client that was shot. 12 times he underwent surgery as recently a month now ago, that still relates back to this shooting.

"The fact that it has been five years does not mean that that day ever recedes from their memory, so they do have physical and psychological needs that are continuing for which they have had no compensation yet and now we have an agreement that's reached that certainly needs to be funded so that these people can receive the benefit of compensation that they deserve for the negligence of the Air Force," said Reynolds.

Alsaffar said survivors need the money now to address millions of dollars worth of medical care over the past five years and many years to come.

"They need it now, some of these children whose bodies were torn apart, ripped apart by these bullets in the AR-15, they need surgeries for the rest of their life. They need help now," said Alsaffar who said they urge the DOJ to approve the settlement soon so people can get paid as soon as possible.

Sutherland Springs, a community of about 400 people, is about 20 miles southeast of San Antonio.