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The white gunman who fatally shot 23 people in a racist attack at an El Paso Walmart will remain behind bars for the rest of his life after being handed 90 consecutive life sentences. He could still face more punishment, including the death penalty.
Patrick Crusius, 24, was sentenced Friday morning to life in prison on each of 90 federal charges he pleaded guilty to earlier this year in connection with the Aug. 3, 2019, mass shooting that killed 23 people and injured dozens more at an east El Paso Walmart.
Residents from El Paso; Juárez, Mexico; and Germany were killed in the massacre.
The life sentences, which will be served consecutively, were handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama, ending a three-day emotion-filled sentencing hearing that began Wednesday at the Albert Armendariz Sr. Federal Courthouse in Downtown El Paso.
More than 50 people sat in the courtroom Friday morning, while more sat in an overflow room to watch the gunman sentenced on monitors showing the proceeding.
The sentencing means the gunman will spend the rest of his life in federal prison. The life sentences were the maximum the gunman could receive in federal court since the U.S. Attorney’s Office decided not to seek the death penalty.
The gunman, who was wearing a blue jailhouse jumpsuit with his hands and ankles in cuffs, did not address the court before the sentence was handed down. He was provided the opportunity to speak in court on the first day of the hearing but declined.
What happened in the El Paso shooting?
The gunman drove 700 miles from Allen, Texas, to El Paso on the morning of Aug. 3, 2019, and parked in front of the El Paso Walmart at 7101 Gateway Blvd. West, near Cielo Vista Mall.
He then exited his vehicle carrying a GP WASR-10 semiautomatic rifle — a Romanian-made firearm variant of the AK-47 assault rifle — loaded with 7.62 x 39 mm hollow-point ammunition, court documents state.
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He began gunning down innocent people in the parking lot before moving into the store and killing and wounding dozens more who were in the aisles and a bank inside the large store. The death toll rose to 23 people in the days and weeks following the shooting.
The gunman then fled the scene in his vehicle, but minutes later pulled over at a nearby intersection, got out of his car and surrendered to a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper responding to reports of the mass shooting. The gunman told the trooper, “I’m the shooter,” court documents state.
Gunman was targeting Hispanic community
He confessed to law enforcement that he was targeting Hispanic people to dissuade Mexicans and other Hispanics from coming to the United States, federal prosecutors and court documents allege.
The white supremacist claimed the motive behind the shooting was because “they (Mexicans and other Hispanics) were to blame” and “he was trying to defend his country,” federal prosecutors said.
Minutes before the shooting, he posted a racist manifesto online outlining his hatred for Hispanic people and his motive for committing one of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history.
In February, the gunman pleaded guilty to 90 federal charges in connection with the shooting. The charges were 23 counts of hate crimes resulting in death, 23 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence, 22 counts of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill, and 22 counts of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
State still seeking death penalty
The sentencing marks the end of the federal criminal case against the gunman. It comes nearly four years after the racially motivated shooting left the victims and the Borderland community searching for answers and justice.
However, the legal saga against the gunman continues as the victims, family members and community now turn their attention to the state of Texas’ case against him.
The gunman faces one count of capital murder of multiple persons and 22 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
El Paso County District Attorney Bill Hicks stated Thursday his office still is seeking the death penalty against the gunman. He added that the federal case’s outcome would not impact the state’s case.
A trial date has not been set, but Hicks said it could be tried next year or in 2025, depending on when state Judge Sam Medrano calls the case to trial.
Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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