Twenty people are dead, 26 injured after a mass shooting at a Walmart in the Texas border city of El Paso. Police say one suspect is in custody. Earlier reports from the mayor of multiple shooters appears to be inaccurate.
The Associated Press is reporting the suspect, who surrendered to police, is 21-year-old Patrick Crusius from Allen, Texas. That’s about 650 miles away from El Paso. Multiple outlets are reporting the white male suspect wrote an online manifesto about his hate for hispanics. Investigators say based on what is known, he could face hate crime charges.
Witnesses describe a horrifying seen. The Texas Tribune writes:
Victoria Hankins, a 38-year-old El Paso native, said she was in the grocery area near the rear of the store when she heard seven or eight shots in rapid succession. She said everyone hit the floor and started crawling away from the shots. Hankins said someone told them to hide in the back of the store, and a number of people crowded into a metal shipping container, which was stifling in the heat. She said people in the store helped each other find places to hide.
When they emerged after the shooting was over, Hankins said she saw a woman exit the store with blood on her legs, saying she was looking for her children.
El Paso police have put out an urgent need for blood.