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(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge found the United States Air Force 60% responsible for the mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in November 2017.

Devin Kelley opened fire inside the First Baptist Church, 40 miles outside of San Antonio, during a Sunday service and killed 26 people from ages 5 to 72, making it the worst mass shooting at a house of worship ever.

In a civil lawsuit brought by families and victims of the shooting against the government, Judge Xavier Rodriguez found that because Kelley was investigated and court-martialed for assaulting his then-wife and her stepson on an Air Force base, the service should have alerted the FBI that Kelley could not legally purchase a gun through its alert system.

“The Court concludes that the Government failed to exercise reasonable care in its undertaking to submit criminal history to the FBI. The Government’s failure to exercise reasonable care increased the risk of physical harm to the general public, including Plaintiffs. And its failure proximately caused the deaths and injuries of Plaintiffs at the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church on November 5, 2017,” Rodriguez wrote.

The government argued that they were shielded from liability by the Brady Act, which mandates that federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and Air Force, report disqualifying information “not less frequently than quarterly,” according to the filing. “Disqualifying information includes “any record of any person demonstrating that the person falls within one of the categories” of persons prohibited from purchasing firearms.”

During the investigation into domestic assault allegations, Kelley “threatened to kill both (his wife) and Air Force Security Forces” if she reported the abuse to authorities, according to the court filing. Additionally, his wife told investigators that Kelley threatened to commit a mass shooting at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.

“My work is lucky. I’d take a shotgun and blow everyone’s head off,” Kelley said at the time, according to the court filing.

When Air Force Investigators looked into Kelley they discovered a “long history of violence and abuse,” according to the court filing.

Kelley was ultimately jailed for for a year on the domestic assault charges.

He later remarried and abused his second wife, according to the court filing.

The judge concluded that the Air Force did not properly report about Kelley to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that gun dealers are required to use in order to complete a background check.

“The trial conclusively established that no other individual — not even Kelley’s own parents or partners — knew as much as the United States about the violence that Devin Kelley had threatened to commit and was capable of committing. Moreover, the evidence shows that — had the Government done its job and properly reported Kelley’s information into the background check system — it is more likely than not that Kelley would have been deterred from carrying out the Church shooting. For these reasons, the Government bears significant responsibility for the Plaintiffs’ harm.”

First Baptist Church Pastor Frank Pomeroy told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas in 2019 that he was still hurting from the shooting.

“The aftermath hurt almost as much as the actual, what the shooter did in our church,” Pomeroy said.

The judge gave the government 15 days to come up with a settlement plan.

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(PORTLAND, Ore.) — Oregon’s record-breaking heat wave reached a death toll of 107 on Tuesday, according to officials.

The victims range in age from 37 to 97, according to the Oregon State Medical Examiner, as the state has been reeling from scorching triple-digit temperatures from June 25 to June 30.

So far, 67 deaths — more than half the state’s heat wave-related deaths — were reported in Multnomah County, prompting the county to call it a “mass casualty event.”

Multnomah County health officials said in a news release the suspected cause of all the deaths is hyperthermia — the condition of having a body temperature well above normal. So far, 40 have been formally ruled hyperthermia deaths, and the rest are yet to be officially ruled.

The county’s victims ranged in age from 44 to 97.

Some of the dead were found inside their homes without air conditioning or fans, according to local ABC affiliate KATU. Portland recorded a high of 116 on Monday, June 28.

One of the victims was Guatemalan immigrant Sebastian Francisco Perez, 38, who came to the U.S. on May 5 to work on a farm in rural St. Paul, according to Oregon Live. He died June 26 while working at a tree farm in the extreme heat. Three vigils were held for him in St. Paul on Saturday, the outlet reported.

In response to natural disaster, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury said the county opened three 24-hour cooling centers, nine cooling spaces, directly contacted tens of thousands of seniors, people with disabilities and pregnant women and deployed more than 60 outreach teams to focus on people without housing or shelter in the heat wave.

Washington County reported nine deaths, Clackamas County 11, Marion 13, Deschutes two, Linn two, and Columbia, Pole and Umatilla counties all reported one death from the heat.

An excessive heat warning was in effect the weekend of the wave from the National Weather Service, and the weekend set records for hottest days in history in multiple cities.

Gov. Kate Brown called the heat wave’s death toll “absolutely unacceptable” and said that despite preparation efforts across the state, “we still lost too many lives,” during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

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(CHICAGO) — Three law enforcement officers in Chicago were shot on the city’s South Side on the heels of a violent holiday weekend that racked up shootings in the triple digits.

The officers, two ATF Chicago agents and one Chicago Police Department officer, were driving in the Morgan Park neighborhood, near an on-ramp to Interstate 57, just before 6 a.m. when they were fired upon by another vehicle, Chicago Police Superintendent David O’Neal Brown told reporters Wednesday morning. The officers were undercover and in an unmarked car, Brown said.

The officers’ injuries are not life-threatening. One of the ATF agents was struck in the hand, the other was hit on the side of the torso and the police officer was grazed in the back of the head, Brown said. They were taken to Christ Medical Center and last reported in stable condition, said Tom Ahern, deputy director of the police department’s news affairs and communications,

One of the ATF agents is female, while the other two officers are male, and all three are senior officers, he added.

The suspect’s vehicle has been located, but investigators are still searching for the suspect, Brown said.

Brown declined to provide details on the case the officers were working to avoid compromising the investigation.

The attack marks brings the tally of officers shot in Chicago this year to 36, Brown said. The shooting comes after a deadly Fourth of July weekend in the city, when 100 people were shot, 18 of whom died, including a 15-year-old boy, ABC Chicago station WLS-TV reported. Two Chicago Police officers and five children 13 and younger were among the injured.

Brown said Tuesday that Chicago officers were “performing at the highest level” and are “risking everything to protect the people of Chicago.”

“They are doing their part, and no one would do what these officers are doing right now,” Brown said. “This is a very challenging time to be in law enforcement right now. They are rising to the challenge, doing all they can. The work they do is extremely dangerous.”

Speaking from outside the hospital, Chicago Alderman Matt O’Shea urged President Joe Biden to come to Chicago and offer additional assistance to the city, saying that 100,000 armed gang members who “have absolutely no fear, no respect for life” are wreaking havoc on the city. Residents are scared to let their children play outside, he said.

“Our communities are under siege,” he said. “Our police officers are under siege. They’re outmanned and they’re outgunned.”

Biden was met by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot upon landing in Chicago Wednesday afternoon. During the greeting, Biden expressed his personal support for the law enforcement officers that were injured and reiterated his commitment to working with the city in the fight against gun violence, said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

Biden was scheduled to visit Crystal Lake, a city about 45 miles northwest of Chicago, in the afternoon.

ABC News’ Cheryl Gendron, Rachel Katz and Alex Perez contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Elsa has made landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast and is now charging up the entire East Coast through Friday.

Elsa made landfall at about 11 a.m. Wednesday in Taylor County, in Florida’s Big Bend region.

Elsa, which is slamming Florida with gusty winds and heavy rain, strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday night before weakening back to a tropical storm.

A boat capsized near Key West as Elsa blew through on Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard. Nine people remain missing.

As of Wednesday morning, Florida had no reports of fatalities or significant structural damage, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

About 26,000 customers in Florida were without power, he added.

Elsa is now barreling up the East Coast, set to bring heavy rain and flash flooding from Georgia to Maine through Friday.

The latest path shows Elsa moving over Georgia Wednesday night, South Carolina Thursday morning and North Carolina Thursday night.

Elsa is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression by Thursday morning as it brings rain and wind to Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Wilmington.

By Thursday night Elsa will be blowing through Virginia, Maryland and Delaware with heavy rain, gusty winds and flooding. Elsa will hit New Jersey overnight Thursday into Friday.

On Friday morning, Elsa will head up the Interstate 95 corridor with heavy rain and gusty winds from New York City to Boston.

ABC News’ Rachel Katz contributed to this report.

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