The man accused of killing 22 people in last Saturday’s deadly mass shooting at an El Paso, Texas Walmart has admitted to law enforcement to targeting Mexicans in the attack.
The suspect, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, told the police on Saturday, “I’m the shooter,” according to Detective Adrian Garcia per an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by the Washington Post.
It’s being treated as a domestic terrorism case, federal authorities say.
Federal prosecutors are also weighing charging the suspect with a hate crime.
Crusius, from Allen, north of Dallas, has been formally charged with capital murder and is in custody without bond.
The district attorney said he would seek the death penalty for Crusius.
Police are investigating a racist online post that appeared just before the shooting, Margo said.
Suspect Patrick Crusius, with automatic weapon drawn, inside an El Paso Walmart.
The anti-immigrant screed praised President Trump’s border wall plan — though AP notes the writer said any attempt to blame the president for his actions was “fake news.”
The suspect’s mother called the Allen police weeks before the shooting because she was concerned about him owning an “AK”-type firearm, lawyers for the Crusius family told several news outlets.
El Paso Police Sgt. Enrique Carrillo said the man got out of a car about a quarter mile from the Walmart Saturday with hands raised and told an officer keeping guard at a crime scene perimeter that he was the shooter.
El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said earlier the suspect had driven for more than 10 hours from the Dallas area and ended up at Walmart “because, we understand, he was hungry.”
The death toll rose to 22 on Monday after 2 victims died in the hospital, El Paso police said.
Most shoppers died at the Walmart, where up to 3,000 shoppers and 100 employees were present, police said.
Mexican officials say 8 Mexican nationals were among the dead.