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EL PASO, Texas — The shooter responsible for the deaths of 23 individuals during a racially motivated attack at a Walmart in Texas is poised to accept a plea bargain in a state court on Monday, likely in a bid to evade the death penalty.
Patrick Crusius has admitted to specifically targeting Hispanic individuals on August 3, 2019, when he opened fire in the busy store filled with shoppers from both the U.S. and Mexico in El Paso, a city along the border.
As part of the plea deal, Crusius would plead guilty to capital murder and, if accepted, would receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole, according to El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya. Prosecutors in Texas have chosen not to seek the death penalty, a decision influenced by many of the victims’ families who desire closure in this traumatic case.
In federal court, Crusius has already been sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms after admitting guilt to charges related to hate crimes and firearms. If the plea deal goes forward, the families of the victims will have the opportunity to present victim impact statements. This follows a recent federal court session in which numerous families shared their emotional accounts over three days.
At 21 years old, Crusius, a dropout from community college, reportedly traveled over 700 miles from his residence near Dallas to El Paso. Shortly before the shooting, he had posted a racially charged manifesto online, expressing fears about a supposed “invasion” by Hispanics. He carried out the attack using an AK-style rifle both within and outside the store and was apprehended by the police shortly thereafter.
Joe Spencer, the defense attorney involved in both state and federal proceedings, disclosed that Crusius has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a mental illness characterized by mood swings, hallucinations, and delusional thinking. Spencer remarked, “You are talking about an individual with a broken brain.”
The victims of the Walmart shooting varied widely in age, ranging from a 15-year-old high school athlete to elderly grandparents. Among those killed were immigrants, a retired city bus driver, a teacher, several tradespeople, including a former iron worker, and multiple Mexican nationals who had crossed the U.S. border for routine shopping.
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