29 people dead, 26 injured, suspect in custody, police say | 2019-08-05 22:38:08 (Visits: 404 Times) |  | | Aug. 3, 2019, 1:43 PM null / Updated Aug. 3, 2019, 8:34 PM null
By Andrew Blankstein and Minyvonne Burke
A gunman opened fire Saturday in a Walmart and around a nearby shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, leaving 20 people dead and 26 injured, law enforcement officials said.In delivering an updated number of deceased, Gov. Greg Abbott called it "one of the most deadly days in the history of Texas.""Twenty innocent people from El Paso have lost their lives," he said.Authorities appealed for urgent blood donations for the wounded.One suspect was in custody, officials said.Law enforcement sources say police identified the suspect as Patrick Crusius, 21, from the Dallas area. Sgt. Robert Gomez of the El Paso Police Department said no shots were fired by law enforcement.
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"A little kid runs in talking about there's an active shooter at Walmart," the shopper said.
Multiple senior law enforcement officials believe Crusius posted a screed online just prior to the attack. They say investigators are examining a posting they suspect is from him but that they have not officially confirmed it.
The sources said it was too soon to draw any motives from the posting.It appears the document, with no mention of the location of the attack, was posted on an extremist website at 10:12 a.m. Saturday, El Paso time, according to law enforcement sources. Police say the first 911 call alerting them to the shooting at the Walmart was made 27 minutes later ? not enough time to act.
'Nexus ... to a hate crime'El Paso police Chief Gregory K. Allen said at an evening news conference that the crime appears to have "a nexus at this point in time to a hate crime."However, the FBI special agent in charge of the El Paso office, Emmerson Buie, said it was too early to determine if this was indeed a hate crime and that the investigation into a motive continued.
"We're reviewing all the evidence," Buie said.
Allen said the shooting was reported at 10:39 a.m., and police were on the scene six minutes later.
Authorities initially said a second person was taken into custody, but later said they believe only one person was responsible.The victims included at least three Mexican citizens, according to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who announced the figure in a video tweet."I regret the events in El Paso, Texas, neighboring town and brother of Ciudad Juarez and our nation," he said. "I send my condolences to the families of the victims, both American and Mexican."
Witness videos capture terrifying scene around Texas mall shooting
Aug. 3, 2019 / 01:05
What we know so far:
•The shooting took place in a Walmart and around the nearby Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso.
•Police received their first calls on the incident at 10:39 a.m.
•20 people were killed and 26 injured.
•Police put out an urgent call for blood donations in light of the high number of injuries.
•One male suspect is in custody.Close to the Mexican border, the retail area around the Cielo Vista Mall is a popular shopping destination for people on both sides of the dividing line, as evidenced by the Texas and Mexican license plates in the parking lots, although the crackdown at the border has cut down on some of that consumer traffic.
In several tweets, police initially urged people to stay away from the area, but by 1 p.m. said there was no imminent threat.
KTSM airs video purporting to capture gunfire in El Paso
Aug. 3, 2019 / 00:27
'Shocked and scared'A Walmart employee told NBC affiliate KTSM in El Paso that she was working by the self-checkout when gunshots rang out. The employee, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, Leslie, said she initially thought boxes had been dropped.“I thought it was just like loud boxes being dropped or something, until they got closer and closer,” she said. "That’s when I looked at my co-worker, and we looked at each other like shocked and scared.”“I got all the people that I could, I even found a little girl that was missing from her parents, and I got her, too. I tried to get as many people as I could out,” the Walmart worker said.Adriana Quezada, 39, was in the store with her two children when the shooting began.
"I heard the shots but I thought they were hits, like roof construction,"she told The Associated Press.In a tweet Saturday afternoon, Walmart said it was "in shock."
Image: Cielo Vista Mall shooting
Customs and Border Patrol police walk past individuals that were evacuated from Cielo Vista Mall and a Wal-Mart where a shooting occurred in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 3, 2019.Joel Angel Juarez / AFP - Getty Images
'Blood needed urgently'"We’re praying for the victims, the community & our associates, as well as the first responders," a statement posted on Twitter read. "We’re working closely with law enforcement & will update as appropriate."
Authorities on Saturday asked for those who
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