A gunman wearing ear protection and carrying an assault rife opened fire inside a Walmart this morning, killing 20 innocent people, according to eyewitnesses and officials.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed the number at a late afternoon press conference.
Dozens more have been injured, some in critical condition.
Congresswoman Veronica Escobar described the number of victims as “shocking.”
A video on Twitter appeared to show multiple people lying dead in the Walmart parking lot.
Two people appeared to lie dead near a truck near the front of Walmart, a shopping cart between their bodies.
A man appeared to lie dead just outside Walmart.
A 4-month-old child is among those who were shot according to CBS News.
A 21 year old suspect is in custody and has been identified as Patrick Crusius of Dallas.
Patrick Crusius in custody.
The FBI is examining a manifesto that referenced the Christchurch shooting and indicated the “attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”
Reporter Scott Stedman has tweeted that the FBI has told him that the manifesto had been circulating on 8Chan.
8Chan is a controversial message board that has been described as “the home of the most vitriolic content on the internet.”
Stedman has read it and says the manifesto is “4 pages long. It is vile, references white supremacist literature and is filled with seething hatred towards Hispanics and immigrants.”
This is the gun the alleged shooter says he used in his alleged manifesto. WASR-10, the civilian version of the AK-47. pic.twitter.com/KT0K0Y5cmh
— Scott Stedman (@ScottMStedman) August 3, 2019
The alleged shooter also uploaded a letter sent to him by his college.
The letter says that they were investigating a report of the student being drunk in class, as reported by his professor.
Local and federal law enforcement descended on Cielo Vista Mall where SWAT officers and FBI agents rushed to seal off the area on the city’s east side.
Ambulances and more than 30 EMTs waited on the perimeter.
The shooting started around 11 a.m.
Suspects are in custody for shooting at the Cielo Vista Shopping Mall in El Paso, Texas. Multiple fatalities have been confirmed! #elpaso #texas #walmart #cielovistamall #activeshooter #guncontrol #nra #maga pic.twitter.com/1vmqGE0FuY
— CMF Global Risk (@CMF_GlobalRisk) August 3, 2019
Three suspects have been taken into custody. Multiple fatalities and at least 26 people injured at the Cielo Vista Mall in #ElPaso, #Texas #walmart #cielovistamall #activeshooter #maga #nra #guncontrol #tactical #police pic.twitter.com/9BOgpI4BfC
— CMF Global Risk (@CMF_GlobalRisk) August 3, 2019
A woman named Karina said she was driving in the parking lot with her 7-year-old daughter when she saw a white man in his twenties in front of the store’s main entrance, dressed in all black and carrying a long rifle.
Karina said she heard what sounded like “balloons popping” and saw the gunman shoot another man at “point-blank” range.
Miguel Rodriguez said he was was shopping for a toy for his 7-year-old son when he heard gunshots and ducked to the ground.
He said a person “started shooting everyone, aisle by aisle, with rage.”
Britney, 19, was with her 16-year-old brother and her mother in the store’s underwear aisle when she heard shooting.
The family dropped to the ground. Then Britney said she grabbed her mother and brother’s hands and they ran out of the store.
Ten people were taken to University Medical Center with level-one trauma injuries, a spokesperson told NBC News.
A local reporter, Rocco Aloe, reported a little boy told him his mom was killed.
Reporting from outside the #Walmart in #ElPaso, our @Garrett_FoxNews on a conversation he had minutes ago with a young boy: “My mom is dead.” Boy reported seeing people lying dead on the ground.
— Rocco Aloe (@Rocco_FNC) August 3, 2019
Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke of El Paso urged residents in El Paso to “stay safe.”
“Truly heartbreaking,” he wrote in a tweet. “Please follow all directions of emergency personnel as we continue to get more updates.
Walmart issued a statement as well:
“We’re in shock over the tragic events at Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, where store 2201 & club 6502 are located,” the retailer said. “We’re praying for the victims, the community & our associates, as well as the first responders. We’re working closely with law enforcement & will update as appropriate.”
“Terrible shootings in El Paso, Texas,” President Trump tweeted this afternoon. “Reports are very bad, many killed. Working with State and Local authorities, and Law Enforcement. Spoke to Governor to pledge total support of Federal Government. God be with you all!”
This is laid at the feet of Donald Nazi trump. I hope trump experiences this someday
How does it feel to be crazy and wish murder on someone?
This is 100% because democrats went from opposing illegal aliens to trying to turn the entire country over to them. If they didn’t flip out in 2015 just because Trump wanted to keep illegal aliens out, and continued with what Barack Obama had been doing and what both parties supported, all of the efforts to turn the country over the illegals at the total expense of Americans wouldn’t have happened and people like this psycho wouldn’t feel the urge to psycho out.
Donald Trump started his campaign for president calling Mexicans “rapists.” He questioned a federal judge with Hispanic heritage. He has the border wall the centerpiece of his presidency. To only blame Democrats for the rise of white nationalism is simply not truthful.
Seriously people? You’re blaming our President for the actions of this mentally deranged man? Tell me how Trump caused this. He didn’t EVER call Mexicans rapists. That’s a news spin- proven to be a lie. Stop believing everything you hear on liberal media’s stations. Look at the facts & dig a little. You’ll see the truth if you care to look. #WALKAWAY #TRUMP2020
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have a lot of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” -Donald Trump, June, 2015. Not spin, just his own quote.
My wife is mexican and her father told me before how some government institutions in mexico are so corrupt that instead of spending money to incarcerate felons in their country they will try to get them cross the border. In hopes that they will be arrested in the U.S. and become our problem. That is what Trump was referring too. People in Mexican mafia,Latin Kings, and MS-13. Most white people in nice suburban areas are oblivious to this practice.