El Paso Walmart shooter pleads guilty to murder in racist attack that killed 23
Patrick Crusius
EL PASO, Texas - A North Texas man who shot and killed 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 pleaded guilty to capital murder in state court on Monday.
Patrick Crusius, now 26, told police that he was targeting Hispanic shoppers after driving from Allen to El Paso.
El Paso Walmart shooter pleads guilty
Crusius pleaded guilty in an El Paso courtroom on Monday with about 100 people from victims' families seated in the courtroom.
In exchange for pleading guilty to capital murder, the gunman was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The plea deal means Crusius will not receive the death penalty. He was previously sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences in federal court after pleading guilty to hate crime and weapons charges in 2023.
El Paso District Attorney James Montoya said he offered the plea deal to Crusius because the families of many victims were eager for the case to come to an end. Some families have opposed the plea.
Montoya has said that the case may not have gone to trial until 2028 if his office had decided to continue to seek the death penalty.
What they're saying:
Judge Sam Medrano addressed Crusius at the hearing.
"You came to inflict terror, to take innocent lives, and to shatter a community that had done nothing but stand for kindness, unity and love. You slaughtered fathers, mothers, sons and daughters," Medrano said.
"Now as you begin the rest of your life locked away, remember this: your mission failed," he continued. "You did not divide this city, you strengthened it. You did not silence its voice, you made it louder. You did not instill fear, you inspired unity. El Paso rose, stronger and braver."
El Paso Walmart Shooting
Victims of El Paso Walmart shooting remembered a year later
People in El Paso will mark a tragedy that happened one year ago today. The massacre at a Walmart store appears to have been racially inspired.
The backstory:
In 2019, Crusius drove 700 miles from his home in Allen, outside of Dallas, to El Paso to carry out the shooting.
READ MORE: Suspect in deadly El Paso mass shooting is from North Texas
On Aug. 3, 2019, he arrived at the Walmart shooting people in the parking lot and inside the store with an AK-style rifle.
Shortly before the attack started, Crusius posted on an online message board that the shooting was "in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas." He also claimed Hispanics were going to take over the government and economy.
EL PASO, TX - AUGUST 4: In this handout photo provided by the El Paso Police Department, Patrick Crusius, 21, poses for a booking photo August 4, 2019 in El Paso, Texas. Crusius is charged with capital murder in the shooting deaths of 22 people at an
After being apprehended by police, Crusius admitted to the shooting and told officers that he was targeting Mexicans.
23 people were killed, and 22 others were injured.
The victims ranged from a 15-year-old to grandparents.
The Source: Information in this article on comments made in the courtroom comes from the Associated Press, more information on the shooting comes from FOX News and past FOX 4 coverage.