The Air Force has failed to report service members charged with or convicted of serious crimes to the federal gun background-check databases at least a dozen times, the New York Times reports.
The data came from an Air Force review, which it conducted after it disclosed that gunman Devin Patrick Kelley killed 26 people at a church in Texas with a firearm he was not supposed to be able to purchase
Kelley, 26, was discharged under dishonorable circumstances from the Air Force in 2014. He was court-martialed in 2012 for assaulting his wife and breaking his infant stepson's skull; a judge sentenced him with a bad-conduct discharge, 12 months confinement, and a reduction in rank.
But the Air Force didn't report his conviction, and Kelley over the past four years acquired a number of guns, including the rifle he used in the attack.
In a statement, the Air Force said the mistake made in the Kelley case "was not an isolated incident and similar reporting lapses occurred at other locations."
"Although policies and procedures requiring reporting were in place, training and compliance measures were lacking," it added.
About 60,000 cases are being reviewed by the Air Force, but officials were unable to say how many of those cases had gone through the process.
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