El Paso Walmart shooter Patrick Crusius looks stone-faced in court as he pleads not guilty to capital murder
Patrick Crusius, 21, who had shot and killed 22 people and injured 26 in Walmart, El Paso, Texas, on August 3 has pleaded not guilty to capital murder. Crusius maintained a stone-cold expression all through his court appearance while pleading not guilty to capital murder.
Crusius appeared before a trial judge to be arraigned on October 10 and pleaded not guilty. According to prosecutors, Crusius had earlier confessed that he had driven for more than 11 hours from his home in Allen, Texas to El Paso. He then targeted Mexicans using an AK-47 in the Latino dominated city.
The Department of Justice had dubbed the attack as an act of terrorism as prosecutors shared that they will be seeking the death penalty for Crusius. Crusius' attorney Mark Stevens had earlier shared that he would use 'every legal tool' available to prevent Crusius from being executed.
Crusius had surrendered to the authorities after the attack and had said, 'I'm the shooter,' and that he targeted Mexicans. As per court documents, the prosecutors had alleged that Crusius was the author of a four-page manifesto that had been published on 8chan, which is an online platform used by extremists.
The message read that the shooting had been in response to 'the Hispanic invasion of Texas.' The majority of the fatalities were Hispanic. Federal prosecutors also added that they were weighing the hate-crime charges against Crusius that could also lead to the death penalty.
Survivors of the attack had held vigils all over the city which included the outside of the jail in El Paso where Crusius was kept isolated from other prisoners. The attack had taken place less than 24 hours before another mass shooting rocked the country. The second shooting was in Dayton, Ohio on August 4 and saw nine people killed with more than 27 injured. The mass violence has called for better gun control laws and immigration advocates.