El Paso, TX – Vice President Kamala Harris marked the fifth anniversary of the tragic mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, which targeted Latinos, by honoring the 23 lives lost and the resilience of the survivors and the community.
“Five years ago, white supremacy fueled a tragic mass shooting targeting Latinos in El Paso. Today and every day, we honor with action the 23 lives cut short, the survivors, and the resilience of the El Paso community,” Harris stated.
She called on Congress to pass commonsense gun safety laws and urged collective action to end the epidemic of gun violence and hate in the country.
The mass shooting occurred on August 3, 2019, at a Walmart in El Paso. The gunman, Patrick Wood Crusius, killed 23 people and injured 22 others. The FBI investigated the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime, describing it as the deadliest attack on Latinos in modern American history.
Crusius surrendered, was charged with capital murder, and posted a manifesto with white nationalist and anti-immigrant themes on 8chan before the attack. Inspired by the Christchurch mosque shootings and the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, Crusius pleaded guilty to 90 federal murder and hate crime charges on February 8, 2023. He was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences on July 7, 2023, but still faces potential state charges that could result in the death penalty under Texas law.
