Shooter ‘domestic terrorist’ says FBI

THE SHOOTING that killed 20 people at a crowded El Paso shopping area w ill be handled as a domestic te r r or i s m c a se, fe de ra l authorities have said.

They weighed hate-crime charges against the gunman, who has been identified by the FBI as 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, yesterday.

If found guilty, he could be sentenced to the death penalty.

A local prosecutor announced he would bring capital murder charges against Crusius, saying the suspect “lost the right to be among us”.

The attack on Saturday morning was followed less than a day later by another shooting that claimed nine lives in a nightlife district of Dayton, Ohio. That gunman was killed by police. Investigators were focusing on whether the El Paso attack was a hate crime after the emergence of a racist, anti-immigrant screed that was posted online shortly beforehand.

Detectives sought to determine if it was written by the man who was arrested.

The Texas border city has figured prominently in the immigration debate and is home to 680,000 people, most of them Latino.

Using a rifle, the El Paso gunman opened fire in an area packed with as many as 3,000 people. More than 24 people were wounded, some with life-threatening injuries, police said.

Despite initial reports of possible multiple gunmen, the man in custody was believed to be the only shooter, police said.

Crusius is from Allen, which is a near 10-hour drive from El Paso.

There was no immediate indication he had an attorney.

El Paso police chief Greg Allen said the suspect was co-operative and “forthcoming with information”.

Police did not know where the weapon was purchased. Police chief Allen acknowledged that it is legal under Texas law to carry a long gun openly in a public place.

Melody Stout and Hannah Payan comfort each other during a vigil for victims of the shooting on Saturday.