On August 3, 2019, a

mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 200 ...

occurred at a

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

store in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

, United States. In the

terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

, a

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

individual killed 23 people and injured 23 others. The

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

is investigating the shooting as an act of

domestic terrorism Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...

and a

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

. The shooting has been described as the deadliest attack on

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

in modern American history since the 2016

Orlando nightclub shooting On , 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff. In a 9- ...

. Crusius, a 21-year-old from

Allen, Texas Allen is a city in Collin County in the U.S. state of Texas, and a northern suburb of Dallas. According to the 2020 U.S. census its population was 104,627, up from 84,246 in 2010. Allen is located approximately twenty miles (32.2 km) north ...

, was arrested and charged with

capital murder Capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, which was later adopted as a legal provision to define certain forms of aggravated murder in the United States. In som ...

in connection with the shooting. Crusius claims to have a posted a

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

with

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

and

anti-immigrant Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...

themes, on the online message board

8chan 8kun, previously called 8chan, Infinitechan or Infinitychan (stylized as ∞chan), is an imageboard website composed of user-created message boards. An owner moderates each board, with minimal interaction from site administration. The site ha ...

shortly before the attack. The manifesto cites the

Christchurch mosque shootings On 15 March 2019, two consecutive mass shootings occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks, carried out by a lone gunman who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, began at the Al Noor Mosque ...

earlier that year, and the far-right conspiracy theory known as the

Great Replacement The Great Replacement (french: links=no, Grand Remplacement), also known as replacement theory or great replacement theory, is a White nationalism, white nationalist Far-right politics, far-right conspiracy theoryPT71 disseminated by French a ...

, as inspiration for the attack. On February 8, 2023, following an announcement that the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

would not seek the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, Crusius pleaded guilty to 90 federal

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

and

charges.

Incident

The shooting occurred at a Walmart near the

Cielo Vista Mall Cielo Vista Mall is a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, United States, owned and operated by Simon Property Group. It is located on El Paso's east side, at Interstate 10 and Hawkins Blvd., and features five anchor stores operating under four brand ...

on the east side of El Paso. Crusius walked into the store carrying what is believed to be a

WASR-10 Wassenaar Arrangement Semi-automatic Rifles (commonly referred to as WASR-series rifles) are a line of rifles sold in the United States by Century International Arms. The rifles are manufactured in Romania by the Cugir Arms Factory and are a semi- ...

rifle, a semi-automatic civilian version of the

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...

, and opened fire just before 10:40 a.m. The store manager witnessed him firing in the parking lot prior to entering the crowded store. He issued a "Code Brown", designating an active shooter, to his employees, who began helping customers evacuate or hide. Many customers and employees fled to other stores in the adjacent mall or hid under tables or in shipping containers located behind the building.

First responder A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or terr ...

s began to arrive within six minutes of the initial

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

call. The

El Paso Police Department El Paso Police Department (EPPD) is the principal law enforcement agency serving El Paso, Texas, United States. As of Fiscal Year 2014, the agency had an annual budget of more than $118 million and employed around 1,300 personnel, including appr ...

, Texas Rangers, and paramedics responded to the scene along with the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

and the

ATF The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...

. After the shooting, a suspect, Patrick Wood Crusius, drove to the intersection of Sunmount and Viscount, where he allegedly identified himself as the shooter and surrendered to Texas Rangers and an El Paso motorcycle officer.

Victims

The shooting has been described as the deadliest anti-Latino attack in recent U.S. history, resulting in 23 deaths and 23 injuries. One victim died the day after the event, another victim died two days after, and a third died eight months later on April 26, 2020. Among the dead were thirteen Americans, eight Mexicans and one German. The names, ages, and citizenships of 22 of the dead were released by the El Paso Police Department on August 5. Seventeen were 56 or older, two were in their 40s, two in their 20s, one was 36, and one was 15. Thirteen victims were taken to the University Medical Center of El Paso, and another eleven to the

Del Sol Medical Center Del Sol Medical Center (Del Sol) is a tertiary care hospital located in El Paso, Texas and is owned and operated by HCA Healthcare. The hospital was founded in 1974 and is licensed as a Level II trauma center A trauma center (or trauma centre) ...

. Two children, ages 2 and 9, were transferred to

El Paso Children's Hospital El Paso Children's Hospital is a medical center in El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population ...

after their conditions were stabilized. The Del Sol Medical Center patients were between 35 and 82 years old.

Perpetrator

Patrick Wood Crusius (born July 27, 1998) was arrested shortly after the shooting and charged with

. A 21-year-old white male, he was last known to have lived in his family's home in

, in the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...

, approximately from El Paso.Tanya Eiserer
El Paso shooter was anti-social loner, former classmate says
WFAA ( August 4, 2019). He graduated in 2017 from

Plano Senior High School Plano Senior High School (commonly Plano, Plano Senior High, or PSHS) is a public high school, public secondary school in Plano, Texas, serving students in grades eleventh grade, 11–twelfth grade, 12. The school is part of the Plano Independ ...

, and was enrolled at

Collin College Collin College is a public community college district in Texas. Founded in 1985, the district has grown as the county has grown from around 5,000 students in 1986 to more than 58,000 credit and noncredit students. Formerly known as the Coll ...

from 2017 until spring 2019. Crusius legally purchased a GP

semiautomatic rifle and 1,000 rounds of hollow-point ammunition online in June 2019. During his first interrogation, he told detectives he had targeted Mexicans, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Manifesto

Crusius has admitted to posting a manifesto, titled ''The Inconvenient Truth'', on the online message board

shortly before the shooting. The post includes the suspect's name, and the manifesto identifies the type of weapon used in the attack. Site moderators quickly removed the original post, though users continued to share copies. Claiming to have been inspired by the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

that killed 51 people earlier the same year, the author expresses support for the perpetrator of the Christchurch shootings and bemoans grievances such as

environmental degradation Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment (biophysical), environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; an ...

, "cultural and ethnic replacement", and a "Hispanic invasion". The anti-Hispanic, anti-immigrant manifesto promotes the

and

conspiracy theory called the

, often attributed to the French writer

Renaud Camus Renaud Camus (; ; born Jean Renaud Gabriel Camus on 10 August 1946) is a French novelist, Conspiracy theory, conspiracy theorist and White nationalism, white nationalist writer. He is the inventor of the "Great Replacement", a Far-right politic ...

. While the document uses language about immigrants similar to that used by U.S. president Donald Trump, such as referring to a migrant "invasion", it states that the author's beliefs predate Trump's presidency, and that Trump should not be blamed for the attack. The author's "racially extremist views", according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', could be used to prosecute the shooting as a

. The manifesto states that Democrats would soon control the United States partly due to an increasing Hispanic population, an idea that had gained acceptance for years on right-wing radio shows. Criticizing both the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

and Republican Party for allowing corporations to "import foreign workers", the author describes the shooting as an "incentive" for Hispanics to leave the country, which would "remove the threat" of a Hispanic

voting bloc A voting bloc is a group of voters that are strongly motivated by a specific common concern or group of concerns to the point that such specific concerns tend to dominate their voting patterns, causing them to vote together in elections. For example ...

. While primarily focused on ethnic and racial grievances, the document also expresses fears of

automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

's effects on employment and blames corporations for overusing natural resources.

Legal proceedings

The arrest warrant affidavit says Crusius waived his ''Miranda'' rights, confessed to detectives that he was the shooter, and admitted that he targeted "Mexicans" during the attack. There are multiple investigations and jurisdictions involved with the case. FBI officials in El Paso served multiple warrants in the Dallas area and interviewed acquaintances of Crusius in Dallas and San Antonio.

Federal charges

On February 6, 2020, Crusius was charged with 90 federal charges: 22 counts of committing a hate crime resulting in death, 22 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder, 23 counts of a hate crime involving an attempt to kill, and 23 counts of use of a firearm during a crime. Crusius waived his federal bond hearing on February 12, 2020, during his first federal court appearance. A trial in federal court is expected before the trial in state court. On July 23, 2020, Crusius entered a plea of not-guilty to federal charges. He also waived his arraignment on those charges. In July 2020, the federal court granted a defense motion for more time to investigate "a number of 'red-flag' mitigation themes" as federal prosecutors decided whether to seek a death sentence. In the motion, the defense said that Crusius had "severe" lifelong neurological and mental disabilities; that he was treated with

anti-psychotic Antipsychotics, also known as neuroleptics, are a class of psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis (including delusions, hallucinations, paranoia or disordered thought), principally in schizophrenia but also in a range of oth ...

medication after his arrest; and that he was in a "psychotic state" when arrested. The trial was delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Texas The COVID-19 pandemic in Texas is a part of the ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The state of Texas confirmed its ...

and the large volume of evidence. At a February 2022 hearing, the defense team requested a trial start date of March 2025 or later, while federal prosecutors asked for a June 2023 trial date. Defense attorneys said they needed more time to comb through 1.76 million files and 763 gigabytes of video obtained through the discovery process, and told U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama that the defense might raise an

insanity defense The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic psychiatric disease at the time of the cr ...

.Lauren Villagran
Walmart mass shooting trial: Prosecution wants 2023 start, defense wants a delay to 2025
''El Paso Times'' (February 17, 2022). In January 2023, federal prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty for Crusius. On February 8, 2023, Crusius pleaded guilty to 90 federal

and

charges.

State charges

Crusius was indicted on capital murder charges by a Texas grand jury on September 12, 2019. He pleaded not guilty to capital murder charges at his arraignment on October 10, 2019, at the El Paso County Courthouse. Mark Stevens, a San Antonio criminal defense attorney, was appointed by the state court to represent Crusius, along with defense attorney Joe Spencer. On April 28, 2020, prosecutors announced they would be seeking a new capital murder charge following the recent death of a twenty-third victim after he spent nine months in the hospital. The state trial is expected to occur after the federal trial. Proceedings were delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and the massive amount of evidence in the case.

Aftermath

Funerals and vigils

Several funeral homes in El Paso and

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju� ...

announced they would provide funeral services for free to the families of the victims as a sign of solidarity for their community. Ciudad Juárez's

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

chapter organized a vigil in Ciudad Juárez. They gathered at a park and lit candles and shone cellphone lights in El Paso's direction as a sign of solidarity. Antonio Basco declared his wife's funeral on August 16 to be open to anyone who wished to attend. Hundreds of people from El Paso and other parts of the country attended, and flowers were sent from around the world. El Paso musician

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

held a benefit concert for his home city on September 1, featuring several high-profile artists and introduced by fellow El Paso native and former US Representative

Beto O'Rourke Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Rourke was the party's nominee for the U.S. Senat ...

Tributes

One week after the shooting, a citizen from Ciudad Juárez, Jorge Luis Martínez Chávez, ran a total of 22 miles, a mile for each of the people killed in the Walmart shooting (one additional victim died months later), starting at the Zaragoza bridge in Juárez, Mexico, and finishing at the Walmart memorial in El Paso where the attack was perpetrated. The El Paso Healing Garden at Ascarate Park in

Mission Valley Mission Valley is a wide river valley trending east–west in San Diego, California, United States, through which the San Diego River flows to the Pacific Ocean. For planning purposes the city of San Diego divides it into two neighborhoods: Missi ...

was dedicated in August 2021. It was designated a national memorial in December 2022.

Reactions

Terrorism experts, including

Peter R. Neumann Peter R. Neumann (born 4 December 1974) is a German journalist and academic who frequently appears on radio and television as an expert on terrorism and political violence. He is the Founding Director of the International Centre for the Study o ...

, cited the

conspiracy theory as a common factor among several similar attacks. The

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...

's ''Hatewatch'' blog linked the shooting with the earlier

and the

Poway synagogue shooting The Poway synagogue shooting occurred on April 27, 2019, at Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California, United States, a city approximately north of San Diego, on the last day of the Jewish Passover holiday, which fell on a Shabbat. Armed w ...

, citing the similar

contents of the respective attackers' manifestos.

Jonathan Greenblatt Jonathan Greenblatt (born November 21, 1970) is an American entrepreneur, corporate executive, and the sixth National Director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Prior to heading the ADL, Greenblatt served in the White House as Special A ...

, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation league, said that the shooting, as part of a series of similar attacks, indicated a "global threat" of white supremacy. NATO secretary-general

Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...

urged countries to work together to prevent "

lone wolf A lone wolf is a wolf not belonging to a pack. Lone wolf or Lone Wolf may also refer to: Literature *''Lone Wolf'', a book by Kathryn Lasky, part of the series called ''Wolves of the Beyond'' *''Lone Wolf and Cub'', a 1970 Japanese graphic nov ...

" attackers who find inspiration in one another's actions. Others, including the writer

Daniel Okrent Daniel Okrent (born April 2, 1948) is an American writer and editing, editor. He is best known for having served as the first public editor of ''The New York Times'' newspaper, inventing Rotisserie League Baseball, and for writing several books ( ...

, disputed the "lone wolf" idea, pointing to the ways in which technology allows those with similar violent ideologies to congregate online. Several commentators attributed both the El Paso and Christchurch shootings to an ideology of eco-fascism. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' described the El Paso and Christchurch shootings as examples of an eco-fascist trend among

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

s. Writing in '' GQ'', Luke Darby referred to the "distinctly environmental theme" of Crusius's alleged manifesto.

Jeet Heer Jeet Heer is a Canadian author, comics critic, literary critic and journalist. He is a national affairs correspondent for ''The Nation'' magazine and a former staff writer at ''The New Republic''. As of 2014, he was writing a doctoral thesis at Yor ...

in ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'' described the manifesto as being based in "

Malthusian Malthusianism is the idea that population growth is potentially exponential while the growth of the food supply or other resources is linear, which eventually reduces living standards to the point of triggering a population die off. This event, c ...

fascism", a worldview in which different races vie against one another in the face of environmental crises such as

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. Mainstream environmentalists, including the executive director of the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

, denounced the attacker's alleged white-supremacist motivations.

United States

President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

condemned the shooting as "hateful" and an "act of cowardice" later that day. He promised that his administration would provide "total support". In a later statement, Trump announced after the shootings in El Paso and in Dayton, Ohio, that all US flags, both domestic and abroad, would be flown at

half-staff Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salu ...

until sunset on August 8. In a speech from the White House on August 5, Trump said: "In one voice, our nation must condemn

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, bigotry and

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America." On August 7, Trump said he was "concerned about the rise of any group of hate", whether it was "white supremacy, whether it's any other kind of supremacy, whether it's antifa". Within two days of the shooting, #WhiteSupremacistInChief reached the number one trend on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

as critics pointed out that statements in the suspect's alleged manifesto mirrored comments Trump had made in the past, including references to illegal immigration as an "invasion" and telling an unspecified group of "'Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe" to "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came". Media outlets also highlighted an incident in May 2019 where an audience member at a campaign rally suggested shooting illegal migrants crossing the border, to which Trump responded with a joke, saying, "only in the Panhandle you can get away with that". A statement released by former president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

stated, "We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments," which has widely been interpreted as a criticism of Trump's specific rhetoric. Trump's remark that violent video games contributed to such mass shootings, a view echoed by other politicians such as

House Minority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are ele ...

of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Rep ...

and Texas Lt. Governor

Dan Patrick Dan Patrick may refer to: * Dan Patrick (ice hockey) (born 1938), Canadian ice hockey player * Dan Patrick (politician) (born 1950), Lieutenant Governor of Texas and political and sports radio journalist * Dan Patrick (sportscaster) (born 1956), Ame ...

, drew criticism from the video game industry, as past studies have found that no link exists between shootings and video games, and accused the government of using the medium as a

scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...

. U.S. Representative

Veronica Escobar Veronica Escobar (born September 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for , based in El Paso, since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as an El Paso County commissioner from 2007 to 2011 and t ...

, who represents El Paso in Congress, brought a town hall meeting in the city to an early close following the shooting. Escobar later said there was also a hate epidemic, with domestic terrorism resulting from the dehumanization of others. Texas Senator

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

issued a written statement deploring "this unspeakable evil."

, a native of El Paso who represented the city in Congress from 2013 to 2019, said he was "incredibly saddened" but that "The l Pasocommunity is going to stay together. Everyone's resolved to make sure this doesn't continue to happen in this country." Texas Governor

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 50th Tex ...

called the shooting "a heinous and senseless act of violence". Texas Senator

John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Senate majority whip for ...

said that gun violence would not be solved by focusing on law-abiding citizens. Texas Lt. Governor

said violent video games were partly to blame. Members of the

criticized Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric in the wake of the shooting, including congresswoman Escobar and 2020 presidential candidates O'Rourke,

Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. sena ...

, and Joe Biden. Other 2020 candidates called for political action to eliminate gun violence, including Booker,

Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; ; Sometimes pronounced or , but not by Buttigieg himself. born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former military officer who is currently serving as the United States secretary of transp ...

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...

, and

Andrew Yang Andrew Yang (born January 13, 1975) is an American businessman, attorney, lobbyist, and politician. Yang was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and the 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary. He is the co-c ...

. The incident also caused many celebrities and media figures to debate gun rights within the United States, with some condemning the perceived inaction of many political figures in stopping the large number of mass shootings in the country. That same evening,

Moms Demand Action Everytown for Gun Safety is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was created in 2013 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America joined force ...

, which had a convention that weekend in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, led a march and vigil outside the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

in support of

gun control in the United States Gun politics within American politics is defined by two primary opposing ideologies about civilian gun ownership. Those who advocate for gun control support increased regulation of gun ownership; those who advocate for gun rights oppose incr ...

and the ban of assault weapons. The day after the shooting, some prominent Republicans, including Texas Land Commissioner

George P. Bush George Prescott Bush (born April 24, 1976) is an American politician and attorney who served as the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Bush unsuccessfully campaigned for the party's ...

, also spoke of the need to combat white-supremacist terrorism. Texas senator Ted Cruz decried the shooting as a "heinous act of terrorism and white supremacy". On Twitter, Deputy Attorney General

Rod Rosenstein Rod Jay Rosenstein (; born January 13, 1965) is an American attorney who served as the 37th United States deputy attorney general from April 2017 until May 2019. Prior to his appointment, he served as a United States attorney for the District ...

classified the attack as "white terrorism". Many Latinos interviewed by ''The New York Times'' said they felt disturbed at becoming targets of white-nationalist violence. Dan Stein, the president of the

Federation for American Immigration Reform The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a non profit, anti-immigration organization in the United States. The group publishes position papers, organizes events, and runs campaigns in order to advocate for changes in U.S. immig ...

(FAIR), issued a statement on Twitter denouncing the shooting, with no mention of Crusius' alleged manifesto. The group regularly makes similar anti-immigration arguments to those contained in the document, prompting worries of political fallout from the shooting among FAIR and similar groups, according to

David Nakamura David Nakamura is an American journalist who works as the White House reporter for ''The Washington Post''. Biography Nakamura is of Japanese and Jewish descent and raised in northern Virginia. Being of Japanese descent, his father was interned ...

in ''The Washington Post''. Both Stein and Mark Krikorian of the

Center for Immigration Studies The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is an anti-immigration think tank and a SPLC designated hate group. It favors far lower immigration numbers, and produces analyses to further those views. The CIS was founded by historian Otis L. Graha ...

, which also advocates restrictions on immigration, dismissed any connections between Crusius' ideology and their own. In response to the shooting, some 8chan users claimed that the shooter was "our guy". The purported manifesto of the shooter, after being deleted, was re-uploaded by some users, while others commented that it showed "zero effort", or claimed that it was fake. Following the attack,

Cloudflare Cloudflare, Inc. is an American content delivery network and DDoS mitigation company, founded in 2009. It primarily acts as a reverse proxy between a website's visitor and the Cloudflare customer's hosting provider. Its headquarters are in San ...

terminated its website security service for 8chan, commenting that "8chan has repeatedly proven itself to be a cesspool of hate". The site later went dark after its server rental provider Voxility discontinued its service. Journalist

Robert Evans Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930October 26, 2019) was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), and ''Chi ...

has cited the shooting and the preceding

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

and

Poway Poway () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. The unincorporated community became a city on December 1, 1980. Poway's rural roots influenced its motto "The City in the Country". The city has a population of 49,701 as of 2 ...

shootings as being part of a series of mass shootings driven by the "high score" culture that began with the

Columbine High School massacre On April 20, 1999, a school shooting and attempted bombing occurred at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, 12th grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher. ...

. Trump visited El Paso and Dayton on August 7. The president and first lady also met with the mayors of El Paso and Dayton. In El Paso, protesters showed up at the site of the shooting, some claiming that Trump's attitude and statements had led to the shooting; Two days before the visit, congresswoman Escobar said that Trump was "not welcome" in the city and declined an invitation to meet with him. The White House published photos and a video of Trump's trip; in some photos, Trump was pictured smiling and giving thumbs up gestures, while the video was focused on Trump shaking hands and posing for photos. Trump said that he had an "amazing day" of visits, praising the "love, the respect for" him as president.

Walmart's reaction

Two days after the shooting, a Walmart corporate employee sent a memorandum to Walmart's entire

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...

division, which includes thousands of employees, urging a " sick-out" strike to force the corporation to stop selling guns. Walmart later sent out a memo instructing workers to remove signs and displays that "contain violent themes or aggressive behavior" and pledged $400,000 for funds that were aimed at helping the victims of the mass shooting. On September 3, the company announced it would stop selling ammunition for

handguns A handgun is a short-gun barrel, barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also ...

and assault rifles in the United States, as well as ask customers not to openly carry firearms into their stores.

Mexico

Mexican president The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...

Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican politician who has been serving as the 65th president of Mexico since 1 December 2018. He previously served as Head of Government of Mexico ...

extended his condolences to the families of the victims, both Americans and Mexicans. López Obrador also criticized the "indiscriminate use of weapons" in the United States. The Mexican

Secretariat of Foreign Affairs The Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs ( es, Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, ''SRE'', lit: Secretariat of External Relations) is the government department responsible for Mexico's foreign affairs. Mexico currently has 80 embassies, 3 ...

(SRE) identified the eight Mexican citizens killed, and the seven Mexican citizens wounded, in the attack. The Mexican victims killed in the attack came from

Chihuahua City The city of Chihuahua ''(La Ciudad de Chihuahua)'' () is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. , the city of Chihuahua had a population of 925,762 inhabitants. while the metropolitan area had a population of 988,065 inhabitants. A ...

, and Torreón, Coahuila. One of the victims, identified only as "Rosa," who had also offered to testify, was deported on January 30, 2021, because of a minor traffic violation. Javier Corral Jurado, the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, offered his assistance to Texas governor Greg Abbott and El Paso mayor

Dee Margo Donald "Dee" Margo (born February 4, 1952) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 51st mayor of El Paso, Texas from 2017 to 2021. Early life and education Margo graduated from Huntsville High School in Huntsville, Alabama. H ...

, and said that Chihuahua authorities were ready to assist in any capacity if needed by the U.S. government. The Chihuahua government also directed Chihuahua residents and Mexican citizens affected by the attack to Mexico's executive committee for Victims (Spanish: ''Comisión Ejecutiva de Atención a Víctimas''), and set up a phone line for Mexican citizens who needed assistance. The Mexican Consulate in El Paso provided

consular assistance Consular assistance is help and advice provided by the diplomatic agents of a country to citizens of that country who are living or traveling overseas. The diplomats may be honorary consuls, or members of the country's diplomatic service. Such a ...

to Mexican nationals affected by the attack, and sent personnel to visit Mexican victims treated at the hospitals. The SRE confirmed that the consul Mauricio Ibarra Ponce de León would coordinate with El Paso and Ciudad Juárez officials. On August 4, Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Marcelo Ebrard Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón (; born 10 October 1959) is a Mexican politician who is serving as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico. Affiliated with the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) since 2018, he was appointed to lead the f ...

announced that Mexico would issue a formal charge against the suspect for terrorism against Mexican nationals should Mexico's Attorney General's Office (FGR) support it, and possibly request his

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...

from the U.S. to Mexico to face those charges. If the suspect is charged with terrorism, it would be the first time in history that Mexico issues a criminal charge of this nature for a crime committed in the U.S. In addition, it would guarantee Mexico access to information about the case. Ebrard also stated that the Mexican government would remain in contact with the victims' families throughout the investigation and trial, and that they would press charges against the individual(s) or firm who sold the weapons to the suspect. Former Mexican president

Felipe Calderón Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 1 December 2006 to 30 November 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 a ...

offered his condolences on Twitter, and also directed a message against Trump. He said that notwithstanding if the attack was confirmed to be a hate crime or not, that Trump should stop his "

hate speech Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...

" and " stigmatization".

International

UN Secretary-General

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socia ...

condemned "in the strongest terms the terrorist attack against Latinos on Saturday in the Texas city of El Paso" and called for everyone to work together to combat violence born of hate, racism and xenophobia. Recently the UN launched an action plan to "fight against discourses that incite hatred". The incident was mentioned by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

during a speech in

St. Peter's Square Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the pope, papal enclave and exclave, enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighbor ...

on August 4, in which he condemned attacks on defenseless people and said he was spiritually close to the victims, the wounded, and the families affected by the attacks that had "bloodied Texas, California, and Ohio". The

Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting On July 28, 2019, a mass shooting occurred at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California. The gunman killed three people and wounded 17 others before killing himself after a shootout with responding police officers. , investigators had no ...

happened in California around a week before the El Paso shooting, while the

2019 Dayton shooting On August 4, 2019, 24-year-old Connor Betts shot and killed nine people, including his transgender brother, and wounded 17 others near the entrance of the Ned Peppers Bar in the Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio. Betts was fatally shot by respon ...

occurred in Ohio less than 24 hours after.

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

issued

travel warning A travel warning, travel alert, or travel advisory is an official warning statement issued by government agencies to provide information about the relative safety of travelling to or visiting one or more specific foreign countries or destinations. ...

s to avoid certain cities in America, including

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, and Buffalo and citing "proliferation of acts of violence" and "growing indiscriminate violence, mostly for hate crimes, including racism and discrimination". Both countries warned their citizens to avoid any place with large crowds, including shopping malls, festivals, and "any kind of cultural or sporting events".

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

issued a similar travel warning, advising its citizens to pay attention to the potential for gunfire "everywhere" in the U.S., which they described as a "gun society". President Trump threatened undefined retaliation against countries and organizations that issue travel warnings on the United States because of gun violence.

Notes

References

External links