Former friend of church shooter says there were red flags

A former friend of Devin Kelley said looking back, there were red flags indicating he was troubled, even in a situation involving herself.

Kelsey Huckaby a former friend of Kelley said he sent her messages through Facebook just this year asking for quote "sexual favors."

"I was thinking, Devin, really, why?" said Huckaby.

Huckaby remembers the Devin Kelley she knew in high school pictured in a senior photo she shared with Fox 7 News, she described Kelley as a fun and likeable person for that moment in time.

"The only thing that I ever really noticed about him is that maybe he was kind of controlling of his girlfriends or very obsessive and protective," said Huckaby.

Thinking back to the days in school she wonders what could have gone wrong.

New Braunfels ISD confirmed that Kelley was part of the district since the sixth grade and graduated from high school in 2009.

Since then, Huckaby said there were several red flags over the years leading up to the deadly church shooting in Sutherland Springs.

Kelley served in the air force from 2010 until 2014 when he was discharged for assaulting his wife and child. A friend of Huckaby recounts loosing contact with Kelley's wife.

"When I started losing contact with her and she wasn't responding to messages, I did kind of wonder why she stopped talking to me because we used to be neighbors and we used to talk often and see each other every day. She told me later on that he would keep her from being able to communicate with people because he was abusing her and the baby," said Huckaby.

She said she had not talked to Kelley until this past April. When she and her boyfriend made a Facebook post inquiring about a place to stay.

"Said that he had a trailer on his land that my boyfriend and I could live in for free. if...I would perform sexual favors for him on a weekly basis. It was obviously shocking that it happened at all. It was disgusting and offensive," said Huckaby.

She blocked him on Facebook an out of her life after that. Until she heard about the horrific tragedy that left 26 dead and more than 14 others injured.

Many communities are grieving and holding vigils on a nightly basis in different towns. Tuesday night in La Vernia held a vigil. Community members leaned on each other for support to somehow find a little bit of comfort during this difficult time.

Huckaby wishes more could have been done along the way that could have prevented all of this.

"What could make him go do something like this. even if he had prior violent patterns in domestic relationships which is not excusable at all. you wouldn't think it could necessarily lead to something bigger," said Huckaby.