Sloppiness with procedure on the part of the Air Force could be the doorway that allowed for Devin Patrick Kelley to purchase firearms.

The term being used by the U.S. Air Force is: bureaucratic error.

Kelley was court-martialed in 2012 for assault on his wife and for fracturing his infant stepson’s skull, for which he served 12 months of confinement. Under those circumstances, he wasn’t allowed to own a gun, by federal law.

This is where bureaucratic error comes in.

Neither his arrest, nor his conviction were listed in the national background check database.

Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek confirmed the mistake in a statement.

“Federal law prohibited him from buying or possessing firearms after this conviction,” Stefanek said. “Initial information indicates that Kelley’s domestic violence offense was not entered into the National Criminal Information Center database by the Holloman Air Force Base Office of Special Investigations.”

So they’re checking the error. Twenty-six people are still dead, but maybe if they figure out who dropped the ball here, it will prevent the next maniac from getting his hands on weapons.

Stefanek went on:

“Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein directed a complete review of the Kelley case by the Air Force Office of the Inspector General. The Service will also conduct a comprehensive review of Air Force databases to ensure records in other cases have been reported correctly,” she said.

“The Air Force has also requested that the Department of Defense Inspector General review records and procedures across the Department of Defense.”

Yes. Do that.

After killing 26 people, many of them children, as young as 5-years old, the coward fled, with several citizens in pursuit.

He was found dead, from what authorities are saying are self-inflicted wounds, and had a car packed with weapons.

While there’s no definitive motive, as yet, the speculation is that it was some sort of domestic dispute. His mother-in-law attended the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and he’d been sending her threatening text messages before the attack.