Arturo Rubio, Manny Fernandez and Mariel Padilla

The police said one suspect, a white male in his 20s from Allen, Texas, was in custody, and that the gunman had fired an AK47-style rifle into the crowded store, sending panicked shoppers fleeing for their lives. Chief Greg Allen of the El Paso Police Department said they were looking at potential capital murder charges.

Several officials identified the gunman as Patrick Crusius, 21.

The gunfire Saturday began a few minutes before 11 a.m. in a popular commercial district near Cielo Vista Mall with scores of restaurants and stores that are often crowded on the weekends. The Walmart store, located near Hawkins Boulevard and Gateway Boulevard West a short distance from the mall, was packed at the time.

Hospitals and emergency workers are treating victims.

Enrique Duenas-Aguilar, a spokesman for the El Paso Fire Department, said emergency workers had transported 18 people who were wounded to nearby hospitals. “We don’t have any numbers on fatalities as of right now,” Duenas-Aguilar said.

Local hospitals are treating patients from the scene. Victor Guerrero, a spokesman for Del Sol Medical Center, said the hospital was treating 11 victims. Nine were in critical but stable condition and two were stable, he said. Patient ages ranged from 35 to 82.

The University Medical Center of El Paso received 13 patients, according to Ryan Mielke, the hospital’s spokesman. He said two minors, including a 2-year-old, were stabilized and transferred to El Paso Children’s Hospital. Mielke said the victims’ conditions ranged from minor injury to fatal.

Witnesses described the violent scene.

“We heard shots and saw smoke,” said Victor Gamboa, 18, who works at the McDonald’s inside the Walmart store where the shooting took place. “I saw a man on the floor full of blood. He appeared to be dead. It happened very quickly.”

Gamboa said he and other McDonald’s workers inside the Walmart sheltered the customers to keep them safe and huddled on the ground for 15 minutes. Officers eventually arrived and escorted the group out to a Sam’s Club store across the street.

Manuel Uruchurtu, 20, had just paid at the Walmart register at 10:36 a.m. and was walking out of the store’s doors when he heard the sound of shots. As Uruchurtu fled the store with a horde of people, he saw two bodies on the ground outside, one surrounded by a pool of blood.

“I saw people crying: children, old people, all in shock,” Uruchurtu said.

“I saw a baby, maybe 6 to 8 months old, with blood all over their belly,” he continued. “It was crying and crying. Fortunately it was still alive.”

Authorities are investigating a manifesto in connection with the shooting.

Law enforcement officials are studying an anti-immigrant manifesto to determine whether it was written by the gunman, according to a local law enforcement official who has been briefed on the investigation. Given the manifesto’s racially extremist views, it could make the killings a federal hate crime or an act of domestic terrorism if officials determine that it is tied to the shootings.

El Paso has been at the center of the migrant crisis.

For months, El Paso has been in the national spotlight, as thousands of Central American families have flooded the city and surrounding areas.

The waves of migrants, and the difficulty the Trump administration has had providing shelter and medical care to them, has captured the attention of President Donald Trump and Democratic lawmakers and presidential candidates. El Paso is a majority-Hispanic city of 682,000 that has long had a binational feel because of its proximity and ties to its sister city in Mexico, Ciudad Juárez.

Officials expressed their sympathies.

Trump has been briefed on the shooting, and Trump administration officials were monitoring the situation.

“Terrible shootings in El Paso, Texas,” Trump said on Twitter. “Reports are very bad, many killed.”

He pledged “total support of Federal Government” to state and local authorities, and spoke about the shooting with the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, who was headed to the scene of the attack on Saturday afternoon, and called it “a heinous and senseless act of violence” in a statement.

Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic presidential candidate who represented El Paso in Congress for years, canceled his campaign events in Nevada and California to return to the city. On Saturday, speaking at a Las Vegas candidates’ forum before he departed for El Paso, O’Rourke teared up as he told the audience, “There is a lot of injury and suffering in El Paso right now. El Paso is the strongest place in the world. I’m going to be with my family and be with my hometown.”

Julián Castro called for a national assault weapons ban and for universal background checks during an interview with CNN. Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio, sharply ridiculed the argument that mass shootings could be prevented if more people were able to carry guns. “Shooters like this are using weapons of war that don’t belong in the streets of America,” he said.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/03/us/el-paso-shooting-walmart.html" id="0e1bd7b8-ea84-3bfd-aa1e-61d45e050fff">The New York Times</a>.

El Paso Walmart Shooting: 20 Reported Dead in Massacre

EL PASO, Texas — A gunman who opened fire at a shopping mall here Saturday killed 20 people, according to Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas.

The police said one suspect, a white male in his 20s from Allen, Texas, was in custody, and that the gunman had fired an AK-47-style rifle into the crowded store, sending panicked shoppers fleeing for their lives. Officials said the gunman had surrendered to the police.

Chief Greg Allen of the El Paso Police Department said they were looking at potential capital murder charges.

The gunfire Saturday began a few minutes before 11 a.m., in a popular commercial district near Cielo Vista Mall with scores of restaurants and stores that are often crowded on the weekends. The Walmart store, near Hawkins Boulevard and Gateway Boulevard West a short distance from the mall, was packed.

Enrique Duenas-Aguilar, a spokesman for the El Paso Fire Department, said emergency workers had transported 18 wounded people to hospitals. Local hospitals are treating patients from the scene. Victor Guerrero, a spokesman for Del Sol Medical Center, said the hospital was treating 11 victims. The University Medical Center of El Paso received 13 patients, according to Ryan Mielke, the hospital’s spokesman.

Manuel Uruchurtu, 20, had just paid at the Walmart register at 10:36 a.m. and was walking out of the store’s doors when he heard the sound of shots.

As Uruchurtu fled the store with a horde of people, he saw two bodies on the ground outside, one surrounded by a pool of blood.

Law enforcement officials are studying an anti-immigrant manifesto to determine whether it was written by the gunman according to a local law enforcement official who has been briefed on the investigation. Given the manifesto’s racially extremist views, it could make the killings a federal hate crime or an act of domestic terrorism if officials determine that it is tied to the shootings.

El Paso Walmart Shooting: 20 People Are Dead in Massacre

EL PASO, Texas — A gunman who opened fire at a shopping mall in El Paso on Saturday killed 20 people, according to Gov. Greg Abbott.

The death toll had not been officially confirmed by law enforcement, but Rodríguez said his information was based on a briefing from a state official. The number of fatalities was also reported by local media.

The police said that one suspect, a white male in his 20s, was in custody and that the gunman had fired a rifle into the crowded store, sending panicked shoppers fleeing for their lives.

The office of the El Paso mayor, Dee Margo, said in a statement that the police had confirmed several fatalities. The police declined to elaborate on the number and status of the victims.

The gunfire began a few minutes before 11 a.m. in a popular commercial district near Cielo Vista Mall with scores of restaurants and stores that are often crowded on the weekends. The Walmart store, located near Hawkins Boulevard and Gateway Boulevard West a short distance from the mall, was packed at the time.

Local hospitals were treating patients from the scene. Victor Guerrero, a spokesman for Del Sol Medical Center, said the hospital was treating 11 victims. Nine were in critical but stable condition and two were stable, he said. Patient ages ranged from 35 to 82.

Witnesses described the scene.

Gamboa said he and other McDonald’s workers inside the Walmart sheltered the customers to keep them safe and huddled on the floor for 15 minutes. Officers eventually arrived and escorted the group out to a Sam’s Club store across the street.

The waves of migrants, and the difficulty the Trump administration has had providing shelter and medical care for them, has captured the attention of President Donald Trump and Democratic lawmakers and presidential candidates. El Paso is a majority-Hispanic city of 682,000 that has long had a binational feel because of its proximity and ties to its sister city in Mexico, Ciudad Juárez.

He pledged “total support of Federal Government” to state and local authorities, and spoke about the shooting with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who was headed to the scene Saturday afternoon. Abbott, in a statement, called the attack “a heinous and senseless act of violence.”

El Paso Walmart Shooting: At Least 18 Reported Dead in Massacre

A gunman who opened fire at a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday killed at least 18 people, according to state Sen. José Rodríguez, who represents El Paso.

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Arturo Rubio, Manny Fernandez and Mariel Padilla

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El Paso Walmart Shooting: 20 Reported Dead in Massacre

El Paso Walmart Shooting: 20 People Are Dead in Massacre

El Paso Walmart Shooting: At Least 18 Reported Dead in Massacre