DALLAS _ Authorities are pursuing federal hate crime and firearms charges, as well as a state capital murder charge, against the 21-year-old man who is accused of opening fire Saturday on an El Paso Walmart, killing 20 people and wounding 26 more.
Patrick Crusius, who has ties to Collin County, was booked Sunday into the El Paso County Jail on a capital murder charge, according to online jail records.
Police say Crusius, who graduated from Plano Senior High School in 2017, posted a manifesto online before the massacre stating that he was preparing an attack in response to "the Hispanic invasion of Texas." The shooting was first reported around 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
At a news conference Sunday morning, El Paso County district attorney Jaime Esparza said his office would seek the death penalty against Crusius.
"The loss of life is so great. We have certainly never seen this in our community," he said. "We pride ourselves on the fact that we're so safe. Certainly, this community is rocked and shocked and saddened by what has happened here."
John Bash, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, said authorities were treating the massacre as a domestic terrorism case.
"We are going to do what we do to terrorists in this country, which is deliver swift and certain justice," he said.
He said the office is pursuing federal hate crime charges and federal firearms charges in connection with the attack.
El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said Crusius has been cooperative with police, but declined to provide specifics on what he told police.
"He was forthcoming with information," Allen said. "He basically didn't hold anything back."
Allen said police were beginning to remove the bodies of the victims from the Walmart. He said Crusius's mugshot would be released later Sunday.
A spokesman for the FBI said the agency served three search warrants in the Dallas area, where Crusius is from. FBI agents were seen outside a home in Allen Saturday evening, which was listed as Crusius' last known address.
Attempts Saturday to reach his family members were unsuccessful.
Allen police spokesperson Sgt. Jon Felty said in a statement Sunday morning that the department has three records involving Crusius, but none indicated violence.
In 2014, he was reported as a runaway but came home within a half-hour. In 2016, he was a passenger on a Plano ISD school bus that was involved in a minor traffic accident. In March 2019, he called Allen police to report a false security alarm at his grandparent's home.
Within 24 hours of the El Paso attack, a gunman in Dayton, Ohio, opened fire in a popular nightlife area, killing 9 people and injuring dozens more.
