BREAKING: El Paso shooting: Suspect 'confessed to targeting Mexicans'
August 9, 2019 23H:27 GMT/ZULU
Media caption
Ramon's friend died in the attack: 'I wish the killer had known the real El Paso'
by Alyssa Mann and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, El Paso, Texas
The suspect accused of killing 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, has confessed that he was targeting "Mexicans", say US media.
An arrest report obtained by some news outlets sheds light on his arrest and his interviews while in police custody.
Officials believe the alleged gunman, Patrick Crusius, is the author of an online post decrying Hispanic migrants.
The shooting came just hours before another mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio.
The two incidents have prompted a national debate about gun laws, with Republicans indicating they may be open to tightening background checks on buyers.
Federal officials say they are considering hate crime charges against Mr Crusius, who could face the death penalty if found guilty of the mass murder.
The Washington Post and Associated Press, which received the arrest report filed by El Paso Detective Adrian Garcia, reported that he document was written last Sunday, one day after the attack on the Walmart shoppers.
The document describes the suspect getting out of his car with his hands up and saying "I'm the shooter" when he was stopped by an officer near the crime scene.
Media caption
'My heart hurts on every level'
According to Det Garcia, Mr Crusius waived his right to a lawyer, and told them that he had travelled from the suburbs of Dallas with an assault rifle and multiple magazines containing ammunition.
"The defendant stated once inside the store he opened fire using his AK-47 shooting multiple innocent victims," Det Garcia wrote.
He surrendered without incident, and has been speaking co-operatively with police since the attack, according to investigators in El Paso.
El Paso sits on the US-Texas border, and has a large majority Latino population.
Media caption
Donald Trump spoke to reporters before visiting El Paso and Dayton
On Friday, President Donald Trump, who travelled to El Paso earlier this week, pledged to take a "serious" look at passing new gun control measures to strengthen the background check system.
The suspect in El Paso was able to legally purchase the assault rifle used in the attack, and carry it into the Walmart due to the state's "open carry" gun laws.
On Thursday, lawyers for Mr Crusius told US media that his mother had called police weeks before the attack to say she was concerned about him owning a weapon.
There has also been increased scrutiny - and criticism - of the president's language - he has repeatedly referred to an immigrant "invasion".
The online manifesto being investigated by police used similar words.
FUNERALS BEGIN
On Friday, the first funeral was held in El Paso, but others have already taken place across the border in Juarez, Mexico.
According to Mexican officials, eight of the victims held Mexican citizenship.
Relatives of longtime El Paso resident Angelina Silva Englisbee, 86, described her in the LA Times as "sassy" and "a very strong-willed lady".
On Thursday, motorcycle police escorted a black hearse carrying the body of Elsa Mendoza de La Mora, 57, for the seven-mile (11km) journey across the border into Juarez.
The mother of two had been a teacher and principal of a school in Juarez. Her family say they had been waiting for her in the Walmart car park when she was killed.
RELATED TOPICS
SHARE THIS STORY ABOUT SHARING
- What's the state of illegal immigration in US?
- 7 July 2019
- Video
- US shootings: El Paso stands defiant in aftermath of tragedy
- 8 hours ago
- US shootings: Trump says 'serious' talks on gun control under way
- 4 hours ago
- Video
- El Paso shooting: 'My heart hurts on every level'
- 5 August 2019
US & CANADA
'Serious' talks on gun control under way - Trump
- 9 August 2019
- From the section
- US & Canada
Full article 'Serious' talks on gun control under way - Trump
Hundreds released after 'cruel' Mississippi raids
- 9 August 2019
- From the section
- US & Canada
Full article Hundreds released after 'cruel' Mississippi raids
Canadian released after months in Syrian detention
- 9 August 2019
- From the section
- Middle East
Full article Canadian released after months in Syrian detention
More Videos from the BBC
- Ban for teenage 'flying van' driver
- India needs to ‘win our hearts’
- The Glasgow-born artist facing deportation
- 8chan founder: I regret my creation
- Behind the image that shocked the world
- End of an era as Look North presenter retires
Elsewhere on BBC
- BBC News
- Grocery worker found in shop after 10-year search
- BBC News
- Detroit man dies after deportation to Iraq
- BBC News
- 'Most wanted' fraudster's wife drowned in Spain
You Might Also Like
- BBC Culture
- Félix Vallotton: A painter of disquiet and menace
- BBC Future
- The cows that could help fight climate change
- BBC Travel
- Colombia’s buzzing comeback city
From Around the Web
- Celebrities Open Up About Crohn's Disease
- WebMD
- [Photos] Her Husband Disappeared 6 Weeks After their Marriage, 68 Years Later She Discovered the Truth
- JOL
- Your Crohn's Checklist
- WebMD
- Married Rich: Matthew McConaughey's Wife is One of the Richest Spouses in America!
- Investing.com
- Missing Boy Found Behind Grandmother's Wall
- Absolutehistory
- 40 American Habits That Other Cultures Despise
- ALOT Travel
TOP STORIES
El Paso suspect 'confessed to targeting Mexicans'
Major power failure affecting UK trains and airports
'I wish the killer knew how loving Hispanics are'
FEATURES
A long journey to LGBT freedom
'I wish the killer had known the real El Paso'
How weeks of protests have hit Hong Kong tourism
BBC Future: The real reason sharks attack humans
Climate change food calculator: What's your diet's carbon footprint?
Locals ‘kicked out of their homes for tourists'
'Why I translate all of Trump's tweets into Chinese'
BBC Future: Eight ways to procrastinate less
Why is Iraq stocking up on Scottish sweets?
ELSEWHERE ON THE BBC
Football phrases
15 sayings from around the world
MOST READ
- 1
- Major power failure affects homes and transport
- 2
- Norwich Cathedral helter skelter 'is a mistake'
- 3
- Ashes 2019: England drop Moeen Ali with Jack Leach recalled for second Test
- 4
- Clyde shipyard Ferguson set to go into administration
- 5
- Vietnamese tourist missing from York: Eight arrested
- 6
- Miriam Rivera, reality TV's first trans star, found dead at 38
- 7
- Maids Moreton: Ben Field murdered author Peter Farquhar
- 8
- Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac out of Arsenal's Newcastle trip over security fears
- 9
- No-deal Brexit preparations 'top priority', Boris Johnson says
- 10
- Kenya's Homa Bay: Fart pushes Speaker to suspend debate
Posted by Biodun Iginla at 1:38 PM Email This
Labels: Alyssa Mann and Biodun Iginla, bbc news, Dayton, donald trump, El Paso shooting, gun laws, hate crime charges, Mexicans, Ohio, Patrick Crusius, US-Texas border, Walmart