Man charged with slaughtering 23 in racist mass shooting to dodge death penalty
The man charged with killing nearly two dozen people in a racist attack at an El Paso Walmart plans to plead guilty, according to court records filed days after the federal government said it wouldn't seek the death penalty.
Patrick Crusius is charged in state court with capital murder and could still face the death penalty in Texas if convicted in the 2019 mass shooting that killed 23 people.
Prosecutors have said he published a deluded extremist manifesto online shortly before the shooting, that said it was "in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas."
Shoppers fled for their lives after the gunman opened fire in the car park of the busy supermarket before storming the store and shooting "aisle to aisle", according to reports.
Eyewitnesses described hearing a noise that sounded like balloons popping, before seeing the shooter in the store.
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El Paso Walmart shooting suspect Patrick Crusius in court (Briana Sanchez/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Kianna Long, who was at the Walmart with her husband, told Reuters people were running for their lives.
“People were panicking and running, saying that there was a shooter...They were running close to the floor, people were dropping on the floor,” she said.
Mrs Long and her husband sprinted through a stock room at the back of the store before sheltering with other customers in a steel container in a shipping area.
Distressing CCTV footage posted to social media showed a man gunning people down in a Walmart car park before entering the store.
Picture captured on CCTV showing the alleged shooter (REX)Governor Greg Abbott described it as "one of the most deadly days in the history of Texas".
Crusius surrendered to police after the attack, saying, "I'm the shooter, " and that he was targeting Mexicans, according to an arrest warrant.
The August 3, 2019, shooting happened on a busy weekend day at a Walmart. In addition to those who died, more than two dozen were injured. Many were citizens of Mexico.
In a court filing Saturday, defence attorneys asked for a hearing to be set so Crusius could plead guilty to federal charges. He was charged with federal hate crimes and firearms violations.
Police keep watch outside the scene of the mass shooting (Getty Images)U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama, in an order Monday, set the hearing for February 8 in El Paso.
Although the federal and state cases have progressed along parallel tracks, it's unclear when Crusius might face trial on state charges.
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A status hearing in the state case was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, according to court records.
The district attorney who had been leading the state case, Yvonne Rosales, resigned in November over accusations of incompetence involving hundreds of cases in El Paso and slowing down the case against Crusius.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last month appointed a new district attorney to "restore confidence" in the local criminal justice system.
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