El Paso Walmart shooting: Death penalty considered for suspect after 20 dead

EL PASO, Texas — President Donald Trump is visiting Texas on Wednesday, days after a gunman opened fire inside a crowded Walmart in El Paso, Texas, Saturday morning, killing 22 people and injuring dozens more.

The suspect, a 21-year-old man, surrendered to authorities at the scene, police said.

Here are the latest updates:

Update 11:30 p.m. EDT Aug. 7: An attorney for the family of the man charged in the El Paso Walmart shooting rampage says the man's mother contacted police weeks before the rampage out of concern that her son had a rifle.

Dallas attorney Chris Ayres confirmed to The Associated Press that the call was made to police in Allen, a Dallas suburb. He declined to give details, but he and fellow attorney R. Jack Ayres told CNN that Patrick Crusius' mother contacted the Allen Police Department to ask about an "AK" type firearm Crusius owned.

The attorneys said the mother was only seeking information and wasn't motivated by a concern that her son was a threat to anybody. They also said the mother didn't identify herself or her son in the call.

Sgt. Jon Felty, Allen police spokesman, said there was no record of such a call and he wasn't aware of such a call.

Update 8:30 p.m. EDT Aug. 7: President Donald Trump  wrapped up his visit to El Paso, Texas, Wednesday afternoon after visiting the Dayton, Ohio.

For most of the day, the president was kept out of view of the reporters traveling with him.

Update 5:30 p.m. EDT Aug. 7: President Donald Trump arrived in Texas and was greeted by protesters demanding gun-control reform and an end to caustic rhetoric — including some from the president — that is believed to be contributing to a culture of violence in America.

During the flight from Dayton to El Paso, Trump tweeted photos of he and first lady Melania Trump visiting wounded patients at a hospital. Trump posed for photos with medical staff and spoke with law enforcement officials, giving a "thumbs up" in one.

Update 1:55 p.m. EDT Aug. 7: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have left Dayton, Ohio, for El Paso.

The Trumps visited with patients at Miami Valley Hospital who had been injured Sunday in a mass shooting outside a bar in Dayton's popular Oregon District.

The Trumps are expected to meet with law enforcement officers, first responders and victims later Wednesday in El Paso.

Update 9:50 a.m. EDT Aug. 7: President Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon will visit with first responders and victims of Saturday's mass shooting in El Paso.

"It's a terrific opportunity, really, to congratulate some of the police and law enforcement," Trump told reporters Wednesday morning. "The job they did was incredible. Really incredible."

Trump and first lady Melania Trump are expected to arrive at El Paso International Airport at 1:45 p.m. local time after visiting Dayton, Ohio, earlier in the day. A separate mass shooting reported early Sunday left nine people dead and dozens injured in Dayton.

Trump told reporters Wednesday that he's open to the idea of expanding background checks.

"I think background checks are important," Trump said. "I don't want to put guns into the hands of mentally unstable people or people with rage or hate".

Update 9 p.m. EDT Aug. 6: Police said the suspect 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.

Update 3:10 p.m. EDT Aug. 6: Octavio Ramiro Lizarde, one of the dozens of people injured in Saturday's shooting, spoke Tuesday about the incident.

Lizarde's 15-year-old nephew, Javier Rodriguez, was the youngest person killed in the shooting.

"I'm in pain," Lizarde said at a news conference. "It hurts, but this pain will end. The only pain that won't end is the emotional."

Lizarde said the gunman killed Javier in front of him.

"I won't go into details but it was a horrible image and I hope nobody ever goes through (that)," he said. "It's very painful and I just hope that my family and I get better emotionally."

Update 1:15 p.m. EDT Aug. 6: The man suspected of killing 22 people and wounding several others Saturday at a Walmart in El Paso has been assigned a public defender, according to court records.

Patrick Crusius, 21, surrendered Saturday to a motorcycle officer who was assigned to do perimeter control at the shooting scene, CNN reported Tuesday. Sgt. Enrique Carrillo told the news network Crusius identified himself as the shooter.

El Paso County authorities have charged Crusius with capital murder. On Monday, veteran San Antonio criminal defense attorney Mark Stevens was appointed to represent him.

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 he posted a racist, anti-immigrant screed on the internet shortly before Saturday's attack. Authorities previously said  Texas will seek the death penalty for Crusius.

In his application for a public defender, Crusius said that he has been unemployed for five months and has no income or assets.

Update 9:55 p.m. EDT Aug. 5: El Paso police released the names Monday of the 22 victims killed in the Walmart shooting rampage over the weekend, according to news reports.

The victims included 13 Americans, seven Mexican nationals, one German and one victim of undetermined citizenship, CNN reported.

Mexico's secretary of foreign affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, confirmed on social media Sunday night that eight Mexican citizens were killed in the shooting.

Here's a list of the names:

Jordan Anchondo 
Andre Anchondo
Arturo Benavides
Angie Englisbee
Javier Amir Rodriguez
Maria Flores
Paul Flores 
Juan de Dios Velázquez Chairez
Ivan Filiberto Manzano
María Eugenia Legarreta Rothe
Gloria Irma Márquez Juárez 
Elsa Mendoza de la Mora
Jorge Calvillo García
Adolfo Cerros Hernández 
Sara Esther Regalado
Alexander Gerhard Hoffman
David Alvah Johnson
Maribel Loya
Margie Reckard
Theresa Sanchez
Angelina Silvis-Elisbee
Leonard Cipeda Campos

Update 6:45 p.m. EDT Aug. 5: President Donald Trump is planning a visit to El Paso, Texas, Wednesday in the wake of the mass shooting over the weekend that claimed 22 lives.

El Paso Mayor Dee Margo announced Trump's visit at an afternoon news conference, according to news reports.

"He is President of the United States, so in that capacity I will fulfill my obligation to meet with him," Margo said, CNN reported.

Margo said he briefly spoke with the president earlier Monday, but that they did not discuss specifics, according to the Guardian.

Update 4:00 p.m. EDT Aug. 5: Former President Barack Obama issued a statement on the shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, Monday afternoon. He acknowledged the frequency of mass shootings in the United States, concerns of racist ideologies of suspected shooters, and the need for tolerance and valuing diversity.

The statement can be read in full below and on Obama's official Facebook page.

Update 1:30 p.m. EDT Aug. 5: Mexican officials identified one of people slain Saturday in the El Paso shooting as Juan de Dios Velázquez Chairez, originally of Zacatecas, Mexico.

Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's secretary of foreign affairs, said in statement post on Twitter that eight Mexican nationals have died "as a result of the terrorist event on Saturday."

Update 1 p.m. EDT Aug. 5: Officials at El Paso's Del Sol Medical Center said at a news conference Monday that two patients died Monday after being admitted to the hospital with injuries from Saturday's shooting.

The deaths bring the death toll from Saturday's shooting to 22.

Hospital CEO David Shrimp said an elderly woman died overnight and a second patient died Monday morning. Shrimp said the hospital treated 11 patients who ranged in age from 35 to 82 years old.

Update 12:45 p.m. EDT Aug. 5: A hospital official told KDBC that two victims injured in Saturday's shooting died Monday, bringing the total number of people slain in the attack to 22.

Update 11:40 a.m. EDT Aug 5: El Paso police said Monday morning that another person has died as a result of Saturday's shooting, bringing the death toll to 21.

Authorities have not officially identified the victims. Officials continue to investigate.

Update 10:40 a.m. EDT Aug 5: President Donald Trump said Monday morning that he's asking the Justice Department to propose legislation to ensure that those who commit hate crimes and mass murders face the death penalty.

The president described the man suspected of opening fire Saturday in El Paso as a "wicked man."

"He shot and murdered 20 people and injured 26 others, including precious little children," the president said.

Trump spoke after separate mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, left nearly 30 people dead over the weekend.

"These barbaric slaughters are an assault upon our community," Trump said. "We are outraged and sickened by this monstrous evil. ... We are a loving nation and our children are entitled to grow up in a just, peaceful and loving society. Together we lock arms to shoulder the grief.

"In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy."

Update 10 a.m. EDT Aug. 5: President Donald Trump is expected to speak shortly after a pair of mass shootings in Texas and Ohio left 29 people dead over the weekend.

Update 7:11 a.m. EDT Aug. 5: President Donald Trump is scheduled to discuss last weekend's deadly mass shootings at 10 a.m. EDT Monday, multiple news outlets are reporting.

Meanwhile, 8chan, a controversial website reportedly used by suspected El Paso shooter Patrick Crusius, is down after network provider Cloudflare announced it was "terminating service" for the forum.

"We reluctantly tolerate content that we find reprehensible, but we draw the line at platforms that have demonstrated they directly inspire tragic events and are lawless by design," Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said on the company's blog. "8chan has crossed that line. It will therefore no longer be allowed to use our services."

Prince also called 8chan "a cesspool of hate."

8chan tweeted that it is looking for a solution.

Update 7:30 p.m. EDT Aug. 4: Authorities in El Paso, Texas, said in afternoon news conference that they have now removed all the bodies from both the parking lot and the Walmart store where a gunman opened fire Saturday morning.

El Paso police spokesman Sgt. Robert Gomez said the store and the parking lot are still active crime scenes. He said while some people were shot and killed in the parking lot, most of the victims were inside the store.

Police have not released the identities of the victims yet, Gomez said, and are still in the process of notifying family members.

Gomez said the medical examiner finished up Sunday afternoon and that authorities plan to release the names of all the victims all at once, but he doesn't know when.

The suspect, identified as Patrick Crusius, 21, surrendered on foot near the crime scene when he was confronted by police, Gomez confirmed.

FBI agent Jeanette Harper also gave a briefing at the news conference. Harper confirmed investigators served three warrants on locations in Dallas connected to Crusius and collected evidence. Harper would not disclose the evidence.

Harper also said authorities don't believe Crusius had an accomplice in the shooting, but they are interviewing his acquaintances in Dallas. "We have confidence" the El Paso shooter acted alone, Harper said.

Update 5:20 p.m. EDT Aug. 4: President Donald Trump said "hate has no place in our country," according to The Hill, in his first public comments on the two mass shootings this weekend in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that left a total of 29 people dead and dozens more wounded.

"Hate has no place in our country and we're going to take care of it," Trump said to reporters at the Morristown Airport on his way back to the White House, The Hill reported.

Trump also said he had spoken to both the governors of El Paso and Dayton Sunday and to members of Congress.

He's expected to make a longer statement on the attack Monday morning.

Update: 12:45 p.m. EDT Aug. 4: President Donald Trump has ordered flags be flown at half-staff in honor of the mass shooting victims on El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. The flags will remain at half-staff until sunset on Aug. 8.

"Our nation mourns with those whose loved ones were murdered in the tragic shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, and we share in the pain and suffering of all those who were injured in these two senseless attacks. We condemn these hateful and cowardly acts," Trump said in the Sunday proclamation. "Through our grief, America stands united with the people of El Paso and Dayton. May God be with the victims of these two horrific crimes and bring aid and comfort to their families and friends"

Update 12:10 p.m. EDT Aug. 4: The District Attorney said Texas will seek the death penalty for the man suspected in the shooting at an El, Paso, Texas, Walmart, according to The Associated Press.

John Bash, the U.S. Attorney for Western District of Texas, said that the shooting is being treated as a "domestic terrorism" case. The Justice Department is looking at hate crime charges, according to a person familiar with the department's decision-making process who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

Update 8:45 a.m. EDT Aug. 4: Dr. Stephen Flaherty with Del Sol Medical Center said in a Sunday morning news conference that there are 11 victims of the shooting his facility's care. They range in age from 35 to 82-years-old. Three are in critical and eight are stable, he said.

David Shimp, CEO of Del Sol Medical Center, said it is expected that at least one patient will be able to be discharged Sunday.

Update 7 a.m. EDT Aug. 4: Several protesters marched outside the White House in Washington, D.C., in the wake of Saturday's deadly mass shooting in El Paso, Texas.

According to The Associated Press, the protesters included members of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, groups that support tougher gun laws.

The shooting occurred shortly after noon in a Walmart and continued toward the nearby Cielo Vista Mall. Authorities identified the suspected shooter as Patrick Crusius, 21, of Dallas, and brought him into custody. The motive for the attack is unknown.

Update 11 p.m. EDT Aug. 3: Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says three Mexicans have been killed in the shooting in the border city of El Paso, Texas.

He tweeted Saturday that he sends "condolences to the families of the victims, both American and Mexican."

Update 9 p.m. EDT Aug. 3: El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen says authorities are investigating a hate crime as among the possible motives in the shooting.

The chief says authorities are looking into an online writing that indicated a potential connection to a hate crime to determine if it belonged to the suspected gunman.

Update 7:35 p.m. EDT Aug. 3: Texas governor Greg Abbot said in a press conference that at least 20 are dead and 26 others wounded in a shooting at an El Paso shopping center.

Update 6:10 p.m. EDT Aug. 3: Law enforcement officials said that at least 15 people have died following the shooting in El Paso.

Update 5:45 p.m. EDT Aug. 3: A police official said he believes most of the El Paso attack victims were shot at a Walmart near the Cielo Vista Mall.

Sgt. Robert Gomez said at a news conference about five hours after the first reports of a shooting near the mall that investigators believe a white man in his 20s was the only gunman involved and that he was taken into custody.

Gomez didn't name the suspected gunman or say how many people were killed and wounded in the attack, though he said at least one person is dead. He also wouldn't speculate as to the motive for the attack.

He said the gunman used some type of rifle.

Update 4:45 p.m. EDT Aug. 3: A University Medical Center of El Paso official said one of 12 people who were rushed to the hospital after the attack on a shopping complex has died.

Ryan Mielke, a hospital spokesman, said all the victims suffered traumatic injuries in Saturday's attack at or near the Cielo Vista Mall. He declined to provide additional details about the victims, including the one who died.

Mielke says two children, ages 2 and 9, were stabilized at the medical center before being transferred to the neighboring El Paso Children's Hospital.

Update 4:15 p.m. EDT Aug. 3: White House staff said President Trump was briefed on the shooting and spoke about it with Attorney General Barr and Governor Abbott.

Update 3:50 p.m. EDT Aug. 3: El Paso police said they have one person in custody and have ruled out multiple shooters.

Police have said there are "multiple fatalities" but haven't confirmed how many. CNN reported that at least 11 people were taken to Del Sol Medical Center, and 11 more were taken to University Medical Center of El Paso.

Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, have responded to the area and are assisting in the investigation.

Walmart tweeted a statement on the shooting:

Update 3 p.m. EDT Aug. 3: One suspect is in custody and multiple people are confirmed to be dead, El Paso police said in a press conference. Police did not specify the number of fatalities.

The shooting is over and the scene is contained, police said. Police are searching multiple scenes, including the Walmart and Cielo Vista Mall.

Update 2:20 p.m. EDT Aug. 3: Police said the scene is "still active" more than one hour after initially alerting the public of the shooting, and that they have received multiple reports of multiple shooters.

Details are limited at this time.

Update 2 p.m. EDT Aug. 3: Eighteen people were shot at the Walmart, KTSM-TV reported.

The conditions of those shot are unknown.

Original report: Police are responding to an active shooter at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, police and media outlets said Saturday afternoon.

El Paso police tweeted shortly after noon that there is an active shooter in the Cielo Vista Mall area.

There are "multiple victims," Vice News correspondent Evan McMorris-Santoro tweeted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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