El Paso shooter went to Walmart 'because he was hungry', ate before opening fire, killing 22 people: Police
As the death toll in the El Paso, Texas, shooting rises to 22—with two more victims dying overnight and Monday morning respectively—authorities are still scrambling to determine what made the suspected shooter, Patrick Crusius, target people inside Walmart.
The El Paso police, which is investigating the shooting, told reporters on Monday that Crusius did not plan to end up at the Walmart.
After driving 10 to 11 hours from his home in Allen, Texas, to El Paso, the shooter realized that he was lost. He entered Walmart because he was hungry.
"As soon he got here, he was lost in the neighborhood," El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said, according to New York Post. "After that, he found his way to the Walmart because we understand he was hungry and that's about as far as I can go without getting into too much detail."
Investigators believe that the suspected shooter ate and even took the time to case the mall out without any weapons. It is estimated that there were between 1,000 to 2,000 people inside the mall at the time—a number of potential victims—which satisfied the shooter.
He then exited Walmart and reentered it armed with AK-47-style assault rifle.
According to the surveillance video from inside the mall, the shooter also wore protective ear muffs and safety glasses before firing indiscriminately at victims.
When the police chief was asked whether he believed that Walmart was Crucius' target from the very beginning, he said, "I can’t make comment on that directly. Again, that’s part of the investigation.’’
Larry and Cynthia Brown, the El Paso shooting suspect's grandparents, said Crusius had recently lived with them in the Dallas suburb of Allen. They added that they were "devastated" to hear about the events and were fully cooperating with the authorities on the investigation.
“We are devastated by the events of El Paso, and pray for the victims of this tragedy," they said in a statement, according to NBC News. "Patrick Crusius is our grandson. He lived with us in our house in Allen, Texas, while he attended Collin College. He moved out of our house six weeks ago, and has spent a few nights here while we were out of town. His driver’s license and mailing address were at our house in Allen. That connection has made us a focus of media, of course. We are talking only to law enforcement agencies, and will not be making further statements to the media. We request the media to honor our privacy.”
Dr. Stephen Flaherty, director of trauma at Del Sol Medical Center, said on Monday that an elderly woman and a 78-year-old man were added to the list of victims. Both of them suffered "major and devastating" wounds that were consistent with high-velocity gunshots.
"Unfortunately these wounds have been devastating and major, and we are deeply saddened to be here today to have to tell you that two patients have passed," Flaherty told porters in El Paso. "We are truly heartbroken to be here to have to report this."