El Paso shooting suspect said he targeted Mexicans, police say
The man accused of carrying out last weekend’s deadly mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart confessed to officers while he was surrendering and later explained that he had been targeting Mexicans, authorities said.
Patrick Crusius, 21, emerged with his hands up from a vehicle that was stopped at an intersection shortly after last Saturday’s attack and told officers, “I’m the shooter,” El Paso Police Det. Adrian Garcia said in an arrest warrant affidavit.
Crusius later waived his Miranda rights to remain silent and agreed to speak with detectives, telling them that he had driven more than 10 hours to El Paso from his home in the Dallas suburb of and that he was targeting Mexicans in the attack.
Twenty-two people were killed and about two dozen others were wounded in the shooting. Many of the dead had Latino last names and eight of them were Mexican nationals.
Authorities believe Crusius posted an online screed railing against an influx of Latinos into the U.S. shortly before the attack.
Crusius has been charged with capital murder and is being held without bond. Federal prosecutors have said they are also considering hate crime charges.
Hours after the attack in El Paso, a gunman killed nine people and wounded many others in Dayton, Ohio.
El Paso lies on the border with Mexico and has a large Latino population.
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