White gunman to be convicted for killing 23 people in racist Walmart attack in Texas border town – The Durango Herald

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Filming of El Paso What you need to know

EL PASO, Texas (AP) Texas white shooter

who killed 23 people in a racist attack at a Walmart in 2019 is set to learn his punishment on Friday, after relatives of the victims berated him for days over the shooting that targeted Hispanic shoppers at the US-US border. mexican.

Patrick Crusius, 24, will likely face multiple life sentences in federal prison for carrying out one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history. However, he could still face the death penalty in a separate case in Texas state court that has not yet been tried. Crusius, who

pleaded guilty in February to nearly 50 federal hate crime charges after federal prosecutors removed the death penalty from the table, is not expected to make a statement until formally sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama . The sentencing phase took place not far from the Walmart in El Paso where Crusius opened fire with an AK-type semi-automatic rifle. The attack came after Crusius ranted online, warning of a Hispanic invasion of Texas.

Some of the victims were Mexican citizens. In addition to

of the dead, more than two dozen people were injured and many more were badly traumatized as they went into hiding or fled. Confronting Crusius face to face for the first time, several relatives of the victims looked him in the eye and mocked his motives, telling him his racist prosecutions had failed.

Amaris Vega, whose aunt was killed and whose mother narrowly survived a soft-bullet-sized wound to the chest, railed against Crusius in a pathetic, sorry manifesto promising to rid Texas of Hispanics.

But guess what? You didn’t. You failed, Vega told him Thursday. We are still here and we are not going anywhere. And for four years you’ve been stuck in a town full of Hispanics. … So let that sink in.

Margaret Juarez, whose 90-year-old father was killed in the attack and whose mother was injured but survived, said she found it ironic that Crusius was spending his life in prison among racial and ethnic minority inmates . She was applauded by other relatives and survivors in the courtroom as she celebrated their freedom.

Swim in the waters of the prison, she said to Crusius. Were now going to enjoy the sun. We still have our freedom in our country.

One by one, family members have described this week how their lives have been turned upside down by grief and pain. Some forgave Crusius. A man posted photographs of his slain father, insisting the shooter look at them.

Bertha Benavides husband of 34 years, Arturo, was among those killed.

You left children without their parents, you left spouses without their spouses, and we still need them, she told Crusius.

During early casualty statements, Crusius would occasionally swivel in his seat or shake his head with few signs of emotion. On Thursday, his eyes seemed to lift as victims condemned the brutality of the shooting and demanded that Crusius answer and be held accountable for his actions. At one point, Crusius consulted a defense attorney at his side and motioned that he would not respond.

The attack was the deadliest of a dozen mass shootings in the United States linked to hate crimes since 2006, according to a

database compiled by Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

Prior to the shooting, Crusius appeared engrossed in the nation’s immigration debate, tweeting #BuildtheWall and posts praising then-President Donald Trump’s hardline border policies. He went further in his rant posted before the attack, warning that Hispanics were going to take over the government and the economy.

In the years since the shooting, Republicans have portrayed migrants crossing the US southern border as an invasion, dismissing critics who say the rhetoric fuels anti-immigrant views and violence.

As the sentencing phase began, some immigrant rights advocates made fresh calls for politicians to soften their rhetoric on immigration. Republicans, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott, have pushed for more aggressive actions to harden the US southern border.

The ages of those killed ranged from a 15-year-old high school athlete to several elderly grandparents. They included immigrants, a retired city bus driver, teachers, shopkeepers, including a former ironworker, and several Mexican nationals who had crossed the US border on routine errands.

Two teenage girls have recounted their narrow escape from the Crusius rampage as they took part in a fundraiser for their youth football team outside the store. Parents were injured and football coach Guillermo Garcia died months later from injuries sustained in the attack.

Both youngsters said they were always haunted by their fear of another shooting when they were in public places.

He was shot at close range by a coward and there was his innocent blood everywhere, said Kathleen Johnson, whose husband David was among the victims. I don’t know when I will be the same. The pain you have caused is indescribable.

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Weber reported from Austin, Texas.

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