'Sick in the head': Ex-girlfriends say Texas shooter stalked them

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/breakingnews/sick-in-the-head-ex-girlfriends-say-texas-shooter-stalked-them/ar-AAuvL3J?li=BBnbcA1

Details of Kelley's life, however, painted a portrait of a young man capable of disturbing behavior and, allegedly, violence.

"That was another thing about him — he was very sick in the head...He would tell me very sick strange things," she said, without providing details.

Military officials and authorities in three states are piecing together his 10 years of threatening and abusing loved ones that culminated in last Sunday's horror, when the 26-year-old sprayed a small Texan church congregation with bullets, killing 26 people and wounding 20 others.

Kelley grew up in the semi-rural suburb of New Braunfels on San Antonio's fringe, where neighbours found the Kelley family's presence "unsettling".

"Every morning when I would go out to the front of my house … I could hear a lot of gunfire in that direction. It felt like it was next door," Robert Gonzalez told NBC News, saying the volleys would last several hours, often starting as early as 8:00am.

Kelley graduated from New Braunfels High School in 2009, where former classmates have described him as an "outcast" and one, Kayla Shearer, described him on Facebook as "twisted", according to The Independent.

Former girlfriends say he was a threatening figure.

"He ended up assaulting me. He would stalk me by repeatedly calling me — even prank calling me, saying really weird stuff," Katy Landry said in a Facebook message to NBC News.

Kelley's next two years were turbulent.

Enlisting in the Air Force, he was assigned to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, with the responsibility of moving passengers, cargo and personal property in military transportation. He married for the first time in 2011, but that soon ended violently.

Kelley was confined by the Air Force for 12 months after allegations he had abused his wife, Tessa, and reportedly hit his step-son hard enough to fracture his skull.

Tessa Kelley filed for divorce which was finalised in 2012, and two years later Kelley was discharged from the Air Force for bad conduct, and his rank was reduced.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said after the shooting: "It's clear this is a person who had violent tendencies, who had some challenges, and someone who was a powder keg, seemingly waiting to go off."

Authorities are now investigating how Kelley, incarcerated by the Air Force, and denied a gun owner's permit in Texas, was able to obtain firearms.

There were other "red flags" in Kelley's history.

Back home in New Braunfels in February 2014, sheriff's deputies were called out just after 10:00pm one night to investigate a potential domestic violence case.

Citing a sheriff's office report, Comal County spokesman Paul Anthony said a friend of Kelley's then girlfriend, Danielle Shields, told authorities she received a text message that indicated "Her [Danielle's] boyfriend was abusing her".

The report says Shields reported that "her arms were red" and that Kelley had "told her to pack a bag".

When sheriff's deputies arrived, people at the home said there was a "misunderstanding" and no arrests were made.

Kelley and Danielle Shields were married two months later.

Kelley moved to Colorado later in 2014, registering to vote with an address traced to a mobile home park in Colorado Springs, home to the US Air Force Academy and other Air Force installations.

Court records again show violence.

In August he was charged with misdemeanour animal cruelty. One neighbour told a deputy that Kelley chased a dog, jumped on top of it and struck the dog with a closed fist several times, according to an incident report released on Monday.

Another neighbour said Kelley grabbed the young husky, threw it into the air, then onto the ground and dragged it to his camper.

He was given a deferred probationary sentence and ordered to pay $US368 in restitution. A protection order was issued against him in January 2015, The Denver Post reported.

He apparently moved back to Texas and sought work as a security guard, obtaining a state private security licence in June and getting a job at the Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels.

But he was fired after less than six weeks, the water park said in a statement.

He was then hired as a security guard at the Summit Vacation Resort, also in New Braunfels. A manager there, Claudia Varjabedian, told the Associated Press that Kelley "seemed like a nice guy" and didn't cause her any problems.

He worked there for just five weeks before he set his sights on the little church in Sutherland Springs Texas.

He appears to have targeted the church because his wife's family were part of the congregation.

Officials have said Kelley was "estranged" from his wife.

A resume posted online and linked to an email address associated with Danielle Kelley identifies her as a teacher at the church from 2009 to 2013.

Among the responsibilities it listed at the church were to "teach the children about GOD" and "be a positive influence in their life".

In the lead-up to the shooting, Kelley sent his mother-in-law threatening texts. Texas Department of Public Safety Regional director Freeman Martin said there was a domestic situation going on within the family.

Authorities recovered a Ruger AR-556 rifle at the church and two handguns from Kelley's vehicle. They say all three were purchased by Kelley.

Kelley's parents and other relatives did not return numerous messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

AP/ABC