Alleged gunman in El Paso mass shooting 'in response to Hispanic invasion' indicted for capital murder



EL PASO, Texas — The suspect in the mass shooting at a busy Walmart in El Paso was indicted Thursday, Sept. 12 for capital murder.

Patrick Crusius, 21, of Allen, Texas, was indicted in connection with the Aug. 3 mass shooting that left 22 dead. He was jailed without bond.

El Paso prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty.

Prosecutors said Crusius surrendered to police after the attack saying, "I'm the shooter," and that he was targeting Mexicans.

In court documents, prosecutors alleged that Crusius was the author of a screed published shortly before the shooting that said it was "in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas."

Survivors of the El Paso attack held vigils around the city, including outside of the jail in downtown El Paso where Crusius was being isolated from other prisoners, on suicide watch.

The case fueled anger among gun control and immigration advocates, and caused political blowback.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott acknowledged weeks after the attack that "mistakes were made " when he sent a fundraising mailer encouraging supporters to "take matters into our own hands" and "DEFEND" Texas.

Abbott pledged to invest in a domestic terrorism task force and has suggested he would support and expansion of firearm background checks. He resisted calls to regulate the sale of military-style rifles like the one authorities said Crusius used in El Paso.