The FBI has been unable to access the phone of the Texas church gunman, officials said Tuesday, voicing their frustration with the tech industry as they try to gather evidence about Devin Kelley’s motive for killing 26 churchgoers in a small town outside San Antonio.

“With the advance of the technology and the phones and the encryptions, law enforcement — whether that’s at the state, local or federal level — is increasingly not able to get into these phones,” Christopher Combs, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio bureau, said in a televised news conference.

Combs declined to say what type of phone Kelley had, “because I don’t want to tell every bad guy out there what phone to buy.”

The revelation came as investigators continued to scour the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, where Kelley fired hundreds of rounds and left behind 15 empty 30-round ammunition magazines after his attack Sunday.


The FBI’s refusal to identify the manufacturer of the phone stands in contrast to its public feud with Apple in the aftermath of the San Bernardino shooting in 2015 that left 14 people dead.

In that case, investigators wanted access to gunman Syed Farook’s iPhone 5C, hoping the device would provide information about possible accomplices or terror networks.

Apple defied a court order to help crack the phone’s pass code, arguing it would set a precedent that would compromise the security of billions of customers.

1 / 36 Families of those slain during the attack at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs worship during a memorial service at the Floresville High School football stadium in Floresville, Texas. Also pictured at right is Stephen Willeford, who chased and shot at the gunman. (Louis DeLuca / Dallas Morning News) 2 / 36 Crosses with the names of victims are seen outside the First Baptist Church, the scene of a mass shooting that killed 26 people in Sutherland Springs, Texas. (Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images) 3 / 36 Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, talk with Johnnie Langendorff and his girlfriend, Summer Caddell, third from right, as they visit with first responders, family, friends and victims outside the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. (Eric Gay / Associated Press) 4 / 36 Rene Moreno, right, holds back tears as he speaks with a Texas state trooper at the scene of a shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. (Eric Gay / Associated Press) 5 / 36 Matthew Mata and Erika Gonzalez participate in a memorial service for the victims of Sunday’s church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. (Jay Janner / Associated Press) 6 / 36 Irene and Kenneth Hernandez and their daughter, Miranda Hernandez, say a prayer in front of some of the crosses placed in a field in Sutherland Springs, Texas, to honor those who were killed in Sunday’s mass shooting. (Louis DeLuca / Dallas Morning News) 7 / 36 Investigators examine bullet holes in the front door of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Tuesday. (Scott Olson / Getty Images) 8 / 36 A police officer ties off crime scene tape near a small memorial close to the church where 26 people were shot to death Sunday. (Scott Olson / Getty Images) 9 / 36 Twenty-six crosses stand in the small town of Sutherland Springs in memory of those killed Sunday when a gunman burst into the church. (Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images) 10 / 36 Stephen Willeford, left and Johnnie Langendorff, who both chased after gunman Devin Kelley, meet again during a vigil in Sutherland Springs on Monday. (Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images) 11 / 36 FBI officials use metal detectors to look for evidence in a Sutherland Springs field. (Mark Mulligan / Associated Press) 12 / 36 Pastor Frank Pomeroy of the First Baptist Church and his wife, Sherri, attend a news conference. Their daughter Annabelle, 14, was among the 26 people killed. (Eric Gay / Associated Press) 13 / 36 A bouquet of flowers lies at the base of a roadblock as law enforcement officials work Monday at the scene of the shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. (Eric Gay / Associated Press) 14 / 36 Johnny Langendorff, who chased the church gunman, waits to be picked up from the scene where Devin Kelley was found dead in Guadalupe County, Texas, on Sunday. (William Luther / Associated Press) 15 / 36 Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt Jr. provides an update to the media on Monday concerning the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. (Eric Gay / Associated Press) 16 / 36 Mona Rodriguez comforts her 12-year-old son, J Anthony Hernandez, during a Sunday night vigil for the victims killed at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. (Nick Wagner / Associated Press) 17 / 36 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott embraces a woman during a candlelight vigil for the victims of the mass shooting. (Nick Wagner / Associated Press) 18 / 36 Carrie Matula embraces a woman after the mass shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Matula said she heard the shooting from the gas station where she works, a block from the church. (Nick Wagner / Austin American-Statesman ) 19 / 36 Law enforcement officials stand next to a covered body at the scene of a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Sunday. (Nick Wagner / Austin American-Statesman) 20 / 36 A woman and man in Sutherland Springs pray following the mass shooting. (Nick Wagner / Austin American-Statesman) 21 / 36 Investigators work at the scene of a mass shooting at the small-town church. (Jay Janner / Austin American-Statesman) 22 / 36 A group gathers in prayer in Sutherland Springs, Texas. (Bob Owen / SanAntonio Express-News ) 23 / 36 Law enforcement officials work the scene of the mass shooting. (Nick Wagner / Austin American-Statesman) 24 / 36 A man wipes his eyes on Sunday after news of the shooting in the small Texas town. (Nick Wagner / Austin American-Statesman) 25 / 36 Texas Department of Public Safety troopers stand outside the First Baptist Church. (R. Tomas Gonzalez / EPA/Shutterstock) 26 / 36 Members of the FBI work at the scene. (Darren Abate / Associated Press) 27 / 36 Members of the FBI investigate the shooting scene. (Darren Abate / Associated Press) 28 / 36 Law enforcement officials gather near the First Baptist Church following a shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. (Erich Schlegel / Getty Images) 29 / 36 Law enforcement officials gather near the First Baptist Church following a shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. (Erich Schlegel / Getty Images) 30 / 36 Law enforcement officials work the scene of the mass shooting. (Nick Wagner / Austin American-Statesman) 31 / 36 Emergency personnel respond to the mass shooting in the town southeast of San Antonio. (Associated Press) 32 / 36 Law enforcement officers gather in front of the First Baptist Church on Sunday. (Darren Abate / Associated Press) 33 / 36 First responders work at the rear of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs after a gunman attacked. (Darren Abate / Associated Press) 34 / 36 Law enforcement officers work a barricade near the First Baptist Church on Sunday. (Darren Abate / Associated Press) 35 / 36 Emergency personnel respond to the deadly mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. (KTLA) 36 / 36 Emergency personnel respond to the mass shooting. A Texas man killed 26 people, including children, in the rampage. (KTLA)


The FBI eventually paid a private firm $1 million to circumvent Apple, gaining access to Farook’s phone and dropping its lawsuit against the tech giant.

The tension between law enforcement and the tech industry over encryption remains as high as ever.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said last month that federal agents were still seeking access to 6,900 mobile devices.

“To put it mildly, this is a huge, huge problem,” Wray said. “It impacts investigations across the board -- narcotics, human trafficking, counter-terrorism, counterintelligence, gangs, organized crime, child exploitation.”


Earlier in the month, Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein called on tech companies to build “responsible encryption” that would allow access only with judicial authorization.

Tech companies are wary of such requests. The government, particularly the National Security Agency, has proven to be vulnerable to hacking. And if U.S. law ultimately compels companies to provide so-called backdoors to their devices, fears abound that undemocratic countries such as China will do the same.

“Even if you solve the trust problem with the government, you then have a problem with where to draw the line” with other countries, said Robert Cattanach, a former Justice Department attorney who specializes in cybersecurity for the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney.

Cattanach said it was likely the FBI did not name the maker of Kelley’s phone because it appeared unlikely that Kelley had accomplices. There was a greater sense of urgency with Farook because of concerns he might be acting on behalf of a terrorist group.


“You can’t go to a judge and argue there’s a future threat like in San Bernardino,” he said. “So what are you going to do? Public shaming didn’t work with Apple.”

matt.pearce@latimes.com

Matt Pearce is a national reporter for The Times. Follow him on Twitter at @mattdpearce.

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UPDATES:

1:55 p.m.: This story was updated with background and analysis on the FBI’s past attempts to access data from cellphones of crime suspects.

This story was originally published at 10:55 a.m.