Click for Original Story (NY Times)
EL PASO — A 21-year-old gunman armed with a powerful rifle turned a crowded Walmart store in this majority-Hispanic border city into a scene of chaos and bloodshed on Saturday, stalking shoppers in the aisles in an attack that left at least 20 people dead and 26 others wounded, the authorities said.
For several minutes late on Saturday morning, the packed Walmart near the Cielo Vista Mall on the city’s East Side filled with gun smoke and the echo of gunfire. Workers and customers, some bloodied, fled out the doors. Others huddled in the aisles or on the ground.
“Texas grieves for the people of El Paso today,” the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, told reporters. “On a day that would have been a normal day for someone to leisurely go shopping, turned into one of the most deadly days in the history of Texas.”
Manuel Uruchurtu, 20, had just paid at the cash register and was walking out of the store when he heard the sound of shots. He turned around and saw the gunman holding a long gun and wearing what looked like shoulder pads. As Mr. Uruchurtu fled the store, he saw two bodies on the ground outside, one surrounded by a pool of blood.
“I saw people crying: children, old people, all in shock,” he said. “I saw a baby, maybe 6 to 8 months old, with blood all over their belly.”
The authorities identified the gunman as Patrick Crusius, from a Dallas suburb. He was taken into custody after he surrendered to the police outside the Walmart. The authorities said they were investigating a manifesto Mr. Crusius, who is white, may have posted before the shooting, which described an attack in response to “the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”
“Right now, we have a manifesto from this individual,” El Paso’s police chief, Greg Allen, told reporters, though he said later that law enforcement officers were still not clear whether the gunman had posted the document.
[Minutes before the shooting, a manifesto appeared online.]
The manifesto the chief appeared to be referring to was an anti-immigrant online screed titled “The Inconvenient Truth.” The post declares support for the gunman who killed 51 people in Christchurch, New Zealand; outlines fears about Hispanic people gaining power in the United States; and appears to discuss specific details about elements of the attack, including weapons. The four-page manifesto was posted on 8chan, an online forum where the Christchurch gunman also announced his attack. It appeared to have been published at 10:20 a.m., 19 minutes before the first 911 call, according to an archived version of the website.
“Hispanics will take control of the local and state government of my beloved Texas, changing policy to better suit their needs,” the manifesto said. It added that politicians of both parties are to blame for the United States “rotting from the inside out,” and that “the heavy Hispanic population in Texas will make us a Democrat stronghold.”
The shooting came six days after a gunman killed three people at a garlic festival in Gilroy, Calif. In that shooting, the gunman shot and killed himself after exchanging gunfire with the police. The massacre in El Paso was the deadliest American mass shooting since November 2017, when 26 people were killed in a church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Tex.
President Trump was briefed on the shooting, and administration officials said they were monitoring the situation. “Terrible shootings in El Paso, Texas,” Mr. Trump said on Twitter. “Reports are very bad, many killed.”
The president pledged “total support of Federal Government” to state and local authorities, and spoke about the shooting with Mr. Abbott, the governor, who headed to the scene of the attack on Saturday afternoon.
The city has had a binational feel because of its proximity and ties to its sister city in Mexico, Ciudad Juárez, and has been in the national spotlight for months. Thousands of Central American families have flooded the city and surrounding areas seeking asylum, overwhelming the Border Patrol and nonprofit groups working with immigrants.
The waves of migrants, and the difficulty the Trump administration has had providing shelter and medical care to them, has been a focus of Democratic lawmakers and Democratic presidential candidates in an election campaign in which immigration has become a central focus. But the city has also been home to generations of Mexican-Americans who consider themselves more Texan than Mexican. On a clear day, Mexico is visible from the shopping center parking lot.
Enough is enough!! ???
That’s f*cking nuts
If he hated people, he should’ve gone 5 miles south at our border and taken out his anger there. Instead he killed Americans well a fair amount was.
Horrible. Sad that it is everyday life in our country.
Another loon with a manifesto and posting it all over their social media.
Kathleen, haven’t followed the story yet, I hate the initial speculation and falsehoods. Is this true ?
Scott Simpson yes.i watched it on Fox last night.
Just as sad as seeing bulletproof backpacks in stores ?
So it’s a powerful rifle on your site..smfh…
John, should’ve been high powered
Scott Simpson as a hunter I don’t refer to a ar15 as high powered ..its more a ground hog type rifle for bad shots
It’s a varmint weapon, great accuracy and distance. I thought you were going to throw up the mythical “assault weapon” phrase. Lol
Scott Simpson you mean assault style weapon right..it wasn’t actually a assault weapon til that Trump supporting terrorist shot those unarmed innocent people..sad..very sad
John Henry Collins oh here we go. Always a TRUMP supporter isn’t it? I’m a Trump supporter but guess what? I have no desire to go shooting up a Wal-Mart. So i guess your comment is moot
Lynette was a democratic socialist but you already new that
This was for me Collins
Brian Zupko your just another media behind the scene shit stirrer from what I read about you.
Lynette Marie here we go another Republican with her head in the sand…dont believe the reports and turn your head .
People in the the black mask are up to it again
Wow they flagged my post on here
People in the the black mask are up to it again
If more people had the knowledge and the access- they could’ve shot this piece of shit down.
Instead of fearing guns, learn about them and use them with force against the people who are willing to use them against you and your family.
Tell me why President Trump is blamed for these two massacres. Rep Brown from Ohio doesn’t what mental hold on people buying weapons. Just background checks no Dems have contacted him. VA Tech happened under 44 no one blamed him. Why because of his color?
It dont fit the agenda
Joseph Todaro true and he 44 started the division between white and black
Same way i blame Obama for all the shootings durning his presidency and IsIs too. That was Obama’s buddies. So this gets balmed on Trump
So so sad what is wrong with people just don’t understand my prayers go out to all involved and their family ??God-bless you all and may they all rest in peace
Making America 3rd World Again….
Very sad… We need a national stand your ground law.