Texas shooting probed as domestic-terror case
EL PASO, Texas — The shooting that killed 20 people at a crowded El Paso shopping center is being handled as a domestic terrorism case, federal authorities said Sunday.
Authorities are “seriously considering” bringing hatecrime charges in the case, said John Bash, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas. Those charges could carry the death penalty.
“We are treating it as a domestic terrorism case, and we’re going to do what we do to terrorists in this country,” Bash said, “which is deliver swift and certain justice.”
A local prosecutor announced that he would file capital-murder charges, declaring that the suspect in the shooting had “lost the right to be among us.”
“We are a good and loving community, but we will hold him accountable,” said Jaime Esparza, the El Paso district attorney.
El Paso is home to 680,000 people, about 80% of whom are Hispanic, according to the latest census data.
The border city has figured prominently in the immigration debate. Tens of thousands of Mexicans legally cross the border each day to work and shop in the city, and the Walmart targeted in the attack is less than 10 minutes’ drive from the Bridge of the Americas linking El Paso and its sister city in Mexico, Ciudad Juarez.
By Sunday evening, all bodies had been removed from the Walmart and the parking lot, police said, but no names or ages of the victims were released.
However, relatives said the victims included Jordan and Andre Anchondo, who had dropped their eldest daughter off at cheerleading practice before going to
buy school supplies. Jordan Anchondo, a woman in her mid-20s, was shot while apparently trying to shield her 2-month-old son. A cousin said the baby was grazed by a bullet and had two broken fingers.
The attack reverberated beyond America’s borders. Mexico’s foreign minister on Sunday expressed anger at the killings and said his government would announce legal action against whoever sold the gun to the assailant. Gun ownership is highly restricted in Mexico, requiring special permits, and gun shops are rare.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said a number of Mexicans had been killed in the attack — although he did not specify the number — and that nine were wounded.
“Mexico declares its profound rejection and complete condemnation of this barbaric act,” Ebrard said in a recorded message on his Twitter feed.
The foreign minister said his government’s first priority was to help the victims and that the second was to pursue “legal actions that are efficient, quick, expedited and complete,” to ensure that “conditions are in place to protect the Mexican American community, and Mexican men and women in the United States. What has happened is unacceptable.”
THE SUSPECT
Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of Allen, a Dallas suburb. He was arrested without police firing any shots and was jailed without bond, authorities said.
Investigators focused on whether the El Paso attack was a hate crime after the emergence of an anti-immigrant screed that was posted online shortly beforehand.
In the document, the writer expresses concern that an influx of Hispanics into the United States will replace aging white voters, potentially turning Texas into a Democratic-leaning state and helping to swing the White House to Democrats.
The writer was also critical of Republicans for what were described as close ties to corporations and for the degradation of the environment. The writer of the online document said his views on race predated Trump’s campaign and that any attempts to blame the president for his actions were “fake news.”
Authorities believe that the Texas shooting suspect posted the document, officials said, but they were continuing to gather evidence Sunday.
El Paso Sheriff Richard Wiles, who oversees the jail holding the suspect, said in a Facebook post Saturday night that the attack was racially motivated.
“This Anglo man came here to kill Hispanics,” he wrote. “I’m outraged and you should be too. This entire nation should be outraged. In this day and age, with all the serious issues we face, we are still confronted with people who will kill another for the sole reason of the color of their skin.”
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said he knew the shooter was not from the city.
“It’s not what we’re about,” the mayor said at a news conference.
Despite initial reports of the possibility of multiple gunmen, the man in custody was believed to be the only shooter, police said. There was no immediate indication that he had an attorney.
Police did not know how many bullets were fired or why the attack stopped, El Paso police Sgt. Robert Gomez said.
“We don’t have information on what prompted him to stop firing,” Gomez said.
El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said the suspect was cooperative and “forthcoming with information,” though he declined to go into detail.
“He basically didn’t hold anything back,” Allen said. “Particular questions were asked, and he responded.”
Police said they did not know where the weapon was purchased. Allen acknowledged that it is legal under Texas law to carry a long gun openly in a public place.
“Of course, normal individuals seeing that type of weapon might be alarmed,” Allen said. But before he began firing, the suspect was technically “within the realm of the law,” the police chief said.
Information for this article was contributed by Cedar Attanasio, Paul Weber, Morgan Lee, Eric Tucker and Amy Guthrie of The Associated Press; by Simon Romero and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of The New York Times; and by Robert Moore, Mark Berman, Hannah Knowles, Devlin Barrett, Jennifer Jenkins, Julie Tate, Mary Beth Sheridan and Alexandra Hinojosa of The Washington Post.