20 killed, dozens injured in El Paso shooting
What we know:
- 20 people were killed and dozens were injured in a shooting near shopping mall in El Paso.
- The white male suspect has been identified as Patrick Crusius. He was taken into custody without incident.
- At least 22 people hospitalized, including one who died; 9 in critical but stable condition; one patient is 4 months old.
A gunman armed with a rifle opened fire in an El Paso shopping area packed with as many as 3,000 people during the busy back-to-school season, leaving 20 dead and more than two dozen injured, authorities said. Hours later, there was another mass shooting across the country in Dayton, Ohio. Police said nine people were killed by a gunman who was shot to death by responding officers.
The shooting suspect in El Paso has been identified as 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, CBS News has confirmed. Crusius has been booked on state capital murder charges, a law enforcement source told CBS News. The source said he is currently housed in the El Paso county jail.
Police Chief Greg Allen referenced a document allegedly left behind by Crusius, saying the shooting may have a “nexus” to a hate crime. He declined to elaborate.
Trending News
Many of the victims were shot at a Walmart, according to police, who provided updates about the shooting in English and Spanish in the largely Latino city. The shopping area is about 5 milesfrom the main border checkpoint with Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
“The scene was a horrific one,” said El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen, adding that many of the 26 people who were hurt had life-threatening injuries.
Ryan Mielke, a spokesman for University Medical Center of El Paso, said 13 of the injured were brought to the hospital with injuries, including one who died. Two of the injured were children who were transferred to El Paso Children’s Hospital, he said.
Eleven other victims ages 35 to 82 were being treated at Del Sol Medical Center, hospital spokesman Victor Guerrero said.
A U.S. soldier stationed at nearby Fort Bliss was at the mall when the shooting unfolded. Glendon Oakley said that, as soon as heard two gunshots, he took the threat seriously.
“We run towards Dillard’s, and it’s like a play pen over there. I see a whole bunch of kids like, without their parents running around screaming and crying, so I grab as many as possible,” Oakley told CBS affiliate WMAZ.
“I try to get a couple of other people too, you know, grab other kids, but parents are so worried about themselves, they’re gone,” Oakley said. “I’m thinking if I had a child what would I want somebody else to do.”
Walmart released a statement, saying it was working with law enforcement and “praying for the victims, the community & our associates, as well as the first responders.”
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso, said on Twitter she was “heartbroken” by the incident and was monitoring the situation. Her predecessor, presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke, appeared shaken as he spoke at a candidate forum in Las Vegas on Saturday shortly after news of the shooting in his hometown was reported.
O’Rourke said he had called his wife before taking the stage and said the shooting shatters “any illusion that we have that progress is inevitable” on tackling gun violence.
The Democrat said he’d heard early reports that the shooter might have had a military-style weapon, saying we need to “keep that (expletive) on the battlefield and do not bring it into our communities.”
“We have to find some reason for optimism and hope or else we consign ourselves to a future where nearly 40,000 people are year will lose their lives to gun violence and I cannot accept that,” O’Rourke said.
Pat Milton contributed to this report.
Leave a Reply