El Paso shooter surrendered with hands up, say police
EL PASO, Texas — Police in El Paso, Texas, say the man charged in a weekend mass shooting that left 22 dead surrendered with his hands up to an officer on a motorcycle before he was taken into custody.
El Paso police spokesman Sgt. Enrique Carrillo said Tuesday that Patrick Crusius stopped a Honda Civic, got out with hands raised and told the officer he was the shooter. Carrillo said it happened about a quarter mile from the Walmart that was the scene of the attack.
Carrillo said the officer Crusius surrendered to was helping to keep guard at a crime scene perimeter. The spokesman said another motorcycle officer, a patrol sergeant and two Texas rangers came to assist.
Prior to Tuesday, police had said only that Crusius surrendered without incident .
Congresswoman will protest Trump
A Democratic Texas congresswoman says she’ll take part in a protest rally in her hometown of El Paso ahead of President Donald Trump’s arrival.
Rep. Veronica Escobar tweeted the White House had invited her to join Trump during his visit Wednesday to El Paso, where a gunman killed 22 people during a weekend shooting at a Walmart.
Escobar says she’ll instead attend a rally that organizers say will confront Trump and white supremacy while calling for gun control.
Some Democrats and El Paso residents say Trump’s fiery rhetoric has fostered the kind of anti-immigrant hatred that may have motivated Saturday’s attack.
Trump will also visit Dayton, Ohio, where a gunman in a separate weekend shooting killed nine people.
Survivor details nephew’s death
A survivor of last weekend’s mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, says his 15-year-old nephew was fatally shot as they tried taking cover in the store.
Octavio Ramiro Lizarde said Tuesday that he was standing in line to open a bank account when he heard gunshots. He was shot in the foot during Saturday’s attack.
Ramiro says he tried hiding with his nephew, Javier Rodriguez, in a manager’s back room. But he says the gunman must have heard them and fired.
Ramiro is still undergoing treatment. Five other shooting survivors remain hospitalized with him at Del Sol Medical Center, including one in critical condition. Other victims are hospitalized elsewhere.
Suspect gets public defender
The man suspected of killing 22 people and wounding many others at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, has been assigned a public defender.
Court records show that San Antonio lawyer Mark Stevens was appointed Monday to represent Crusius, who is charged with capital murder in El Paso County. Stevens, a veteran criminal defense attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Authorities are investigating the massacre as an act of domestic terrorism and Crusius could also be charged with a hate crime in federal court. Authorities are looking into whether Crusius posted a racist, anti-immigrant screed on the internet shortly before Saturday’s attack.
Crusius said in his application for a public defender that he has been unemployed for five months and has no income or assets.
Community center opened
The Texas border city still reeling from a weekend mass shooting in which 22 people were killed is opening a community center to help residents grieve.
El Paso officials announced Tuesday visitors to the center can receive counseling, travel assistance and financial support. Fire Chief Mario D’Agostino says anyone who needs to talk or who needs help moving forward from the tragedy is welcome.
The death toll in Saturday’s shooting nearly matches the number of homicides El Paso had in all of 2018.
Authorities say Crusius drove more than 10 hours to the border from his hometown near Dallas. A racist, anti-Hispanic screed was posted online before the shooting in the mostly Latino city of 700,000 people.
