Mexico says it will seek shooter’s extradition

A big part of the Mexican government’s focus ... will be on how the assault rifle ended up in the hands of the shooter, and if any warnings fell between the cracks in the lead up to Saturday’s shooting.

EL PASO – The Mexican government said it will seek access into the U.S. investigation against the man accused of shooting and killing 20 people at a Walmart store on Saturday, including at least six Mexican nationals.

But it’s unclear how seriously U.S. prosecutors will take into account Mexico’s demands.

The country’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard outlined a six-point plan on Sunday afternoon, just hours after they revised the number of Mexican nationals killed in the mass shooting in El Paso to six.

In addition to greater access into the investigation, he said the Mexican government will ask the country’s Attorney General to evaluate whether to seek the extradition of the shooter to Mexico on terrorism charges.

“We consider this act to be an act of terrorism against the Mexican American community and Mexican nationals in the U.S.,” he said.

But it’s unclear how likely that is to happen. U.S. prosecutors had already announced that they will seek death penalty charges against the shooter, identified as Patrick Crusius, 21. The shooting could also be prosecuted as a hate crime.

Despite the long odds, Ebrard said this type of legal action could be beneficial in gaining access to the investigation. “As far as I know, this would be the first type of legal action like this in history,” he said. “This type of legal action would allow Mexico to have access to corresponding information, and to evaluate if any other individuals were involved and threaten lives of Mexicans in the U.S.”

As part of the six-point plan, Ebrard said the Mexican government plans to represent the families of the six people killed, as well as the seven other Mexican nationals injured in the shooting, in the investigation that U.S. officials open in the case.

A big part of the Mexican government’s focus, he added, will be on how the assault rifle ended up in the hands of the shooter, and if any warnings fell between the cracks in the lead up to Saturday’s shooting. “Mexico is outraged, but we don’t propose to fight hate with hate. We will act with reason and in accordance to the law,” he said.

Among the other points, Ebrard said they will present on Monday a diplomatic note to the U.S. government asking them “to take a clear and convincing stand against hate crimes.”

That’s a clear nod to criticism that the shooter was motivated by hateful rhetoric coming from President Donald Trump directed at Mexicans and immigrants.

On Sunday afternoon, the Mexican government identified five of its six nationals killed in the El Paso shooting. Government officials said they were still working to identify the sixth person.

The five individuals were identified as:

❚ Sara Esther Regalado of Ciudad

Juárez.

❚ Adolfo Cerros Hernández of Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes.

❚ Jorge Calvillo García of Torreon, Coahuila.

❚ Elsa Mendoza de la Mora of Yepomera, Chihuahua.

❚ Gloria Irma Márquez of Ciudad Juárez.

The Mexican government said that seven other Mexican nationals were injured and hospitalized in El Paso after Saturday’s shooting.

Among those injured, they pointed out to a family of three, a couple from Chihuahua and their 10-year-old daughter, who were hospitalized with bullet injuries.