Massacre in the city of El Paso

The incident occurred at Walmart Shopping Center, near another Cielo Vista Shopping Center, on the east side of El Paso. At 10:40 local time, a man entered the building, armed with a semi-automatic rifle WASR-10 ^[5] and opened fire on buyers and employees of the institution. ^[6] At that time, there were about 3,000 customers and 300 employees in the mall. ^[7] . Most of those in the building in the first seconds of the incident suggested that the source of the shots could be fireworks, after which a number of people went to the source of noise ^[8] . Only after eyewitnesses from among buyers and employees spread the news of the shooting did panic and stampede begin in the building ^[9] .

The dispatchers began to receive calls to 911 one minute after the first shots ^[10] , the messages reported that the offender is white and acts alone ^[11] . The police arrived at the mall only 6 minutes later, after which the building and the adjacent block were cordoned off by law enforcement officials from various institutions. ^[12] . Soon the shooter was detained. During his detention, he showed no resistance ^{[11] [13]} .

As a result of the shooting, 20 people were directly killed and 26 people were injured ^[4] . Part of the victims was taken to the University Medical Center El Paso, another eleven people to other medical facilities. Among the victims were two children aged 2 and 9 years, whose condition subsequently stabilized. Most of the wounded and killed were between 32 and 85 years old. ^[12] . Among the dead and wounded were 9 citizens of Mexico ^{[14] [15]} . On August 5, the number of victims increased to 22, after two of those seriously injured died ^[16]

Police detained a suspect in a crime with a rifle in the street near the building ^[17] and soon established his identity. It turned out to be a 21-year-old resident of Allen ( Collin County ) located 650 miles from El Paso, named Patrick Crusius ^{[18] [19] [20]} who, at the time of the crime, was a student at Collin College »Located in the city of McKinney . It was described by law enforcement officials as an introvert who bore the status of a social outcast . ^[21]

A preliminary investigation revealed that Crusius left Allen in the late evening of August 2 and arrived in El Paso early in the morning of August 3 shortly before the murder. ^[22] A few minutes before the start of the shooting, Crusius published on his imageboard 8chan his manifesto ( translation ) of 27 pages (after some time after the incident, Krutsius’s social networks were blocked), on the pages of which he emphasized that he was an opponent of the Democratic Party and social liberalism , I opposed increasing the number of migrants from Mexico and said that misgenatsiya , multiculturalism , immigration of non-white people, and the birth rate below replacement level threaten the white population of the USA that promotes "white enotsidu »( en: White genocide conspiracy theory ) ^{[23] [24] [25] [26]} . Crusius also expressed support for the actions of Harrison Tarrant , who is responsible for the execution of the terrorist attack at the Al Nur Mosque and the Lynwood Islamic Center in Christchurch in New Zealand in March 2019 ^[13] . In social networks, Crusius supported the foreign policy of Donald Trump and was a supporter of the construction of the US-Mexican barrier on the state border between the United States and Mexico ^[27] .

After the arrest, charges were brought against him and he began to cooperate with the investigation, in particular, Crusius stated that he had no accomplices during the commission of the crime and preparation for this ^[28] . Police confirmed that the suspect had acquired the weapons used in the attack legally ^[29] . Prior to the incident, Patrick Crusius was never prosecuted for any offense. ^[30] The federal authorities are investigating his case as internal terrorism ^[31] , in addition, the Justice Ministry said that it was a hate crime and a violation of the federal law on firearms; such accusations may result in capital punishment - the death penalty.

US President D. Trump condemned the act of Patrick Crusius and called the shooting “an act of hatred” ^[32] . On August 7, Trump visited El Paso and Dayton.

President of the Russian Federation V. Putin expressed his condolences to D. Trump in connection with the shooting in Texas and Ohio ^[33] . Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard made a statement saying that the Mexican government will take legal measures to ensure the safety of Mexicans and Americans of Mexican descent in the United States ^[34] .

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke , a native of El Paso, accused Trump of adhering to the ideology of racism , escalating racism and also actions to incite ethnic hatred , one of the consequences of which was the massacre committed by Patrick Crusius. Another Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Cory Booker, also in his statement blamed the incumbent US president for the massacre, saying that Trump, who made deterring illegal immigration a key part of his presidency, had repeatedly made derogatory comments about Mexican migrants and He described the fact of immigration as an “invasion" ^[35] . The Texas Senator, John Cornin, after a debate over the findings of US migration policy, accused politicians of political expediency, saying that mass shootings in US cities should not be "exploited for political gain" in the upcoming US presidential election in 2020 , but should be regarded as socially negative phenomena that require immediate eradication ^[36] . This incident once again raised a wave of controversy over tightening control over firearms and strengthening the fight against crimes that are committed with weapons, relying on existing laws and amendments to the US Constitution ^{[37] [38] [39]} .

After the massacre, on August 4, 2019, Gibson, Florida, was detained at his home by 31-year-old unemployed Wayne Lee Paget, who had not previously been prosecuted, after he called one of the shops in the local Walmart shopping center with a threat repeat the crime of Crusius. Due to his threats, about 1,000 of his employees and visitors were hastily evacuated from the mall. No weapons were found in Paget’s apartments and was charged with falsely reportedly using violent firearms. After his arrest, the attacker stated that he was inspired by the massacre in El Paso ^{[40] [41]} to commit an unseemly act.

• Shooting in Dayton (Ohio) on the same day - 9 people were killed, 27 were injured.
• Christchurch massacre
• Second Amendment to the US Constitution

• Dozens of dead per day. Why in the USA they will not stop shooting at people // RIA Novosti , August 6, 2019