EL PASO, Texas (AP/WHDH) — El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen says authorities are investigating whether a horrific border town shooting on Saturday was a hate crime.
Two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity identified the suspect taken into custody as 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of the Dallas area.
Police said another 26 people were injured, most of them being treated at area hospitals. Most of the victims were believed to have been shot at a Walmart near the Cielo Vista Mall, they said, adding that the store was packed with as many as 3,000 people during the busy back-to-school shopping season.
“The scene was a horrific one,” said El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen, who added that many of the injured had life-threatening injuries. He said police also had found a manifesto that may have been written by Crusius and posted online — one reason it was being investigated as a hate crime.
Residents were volunteering to give blood to the injured, while police and military members were trying to help people who were looking for missing loved ones.
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