20 killed, 26 wounded in U.S. Texas mass shooting
HOUSTON. KAZINFORM A mass shooting on Saturday killed at least 20 and injured 26 others in the U.S. state of Texas, local officials said at a press conference.
Thesuspect, now in custody, was identified as a 21-year-old white male from Texas,according to Texas Police Chief Greg Allen, Xinhua reports.
The shootinghas a «nexus to a hate crime,» said Allen. Meanwhile, the FederalBureau of Investigation cautioned that more investigative work is needed todetermine the nature of the crime.
Allen saidthe state of Texas will lead the prosecution of the suspect, adding that thestate is currently looking at potential capital murder charges.
Policeidentified a Walmart shopping mall, about 13 km east of downtown El Paso, asone of the active scene.
Accordingto the authorities, the store was packed with as many as 3,000 people caused bya busy back-to-school shopping season when the shooting began.
A lawenforcement source identified the shooting suspect as Patrick Crusius of Allen,Texas.
Crusiusreportedly attended Collin College in McKinney, Texas from fall 2017 throughspring 2019. The District President of the school, Neil Matkin, issued astatement saying that Collin College was «saddened and horrified by thenews.»
«CollinCollege is prepared to cooperate fully with state and federal authorities intheir investigation of this senseless tragedy. We join the governor and allTexans in expressing our heartfelt concern for the victims of the shooting andtheir loved ones,» Matkin said.
Lawenforcement officials are studying an anti-immigrant manifesto to determinewhether it was written by the suspect, according to a local law enforcementofficial.
El Paso,situated at the U.S.-Mexico border, has a population of 680,000, of which 83percent are of Hispanic descent, according to 2018 Census estimates.
In recentmonths El Paso has become one of the busiest entry points for immigrants,especially from Central America.
MexicanPresident Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Twitter that three Mexicans wereamong those killed in the shooting spree.
At leastsix of the wounded were Mexican citizens, Mexico's Foreign Affairs MinisterMarcelo Ebrard said in a Tweet.