A gunman armed with an assault rifle killed 20 people on Saturday when he opened fire on shoppers at a packed Walmart store in Texas, the latest mass shooting in the United States.
As President Donald Trump led the condemnation over “an act of cowardice” that police are treating as a possible hate crime, calls rang out to end the “epidemic” of gun violence.
It was the second fatal shooting in less than a week at a Walmart store in the US and comes after a mass shooting in California last weekend.
One suspect was taken into custody while authorities were studying an extremist manifesto purportedly written by the gunman.
Footage shot on camera phones appeared to show multiple bodies lying on the ground in the store’s parking lot while other footage showed terrified shoppers running out of the store as gunfire echoed.
“Twenty innocent people from El Paso have lost their lives,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott told a press conference.
– Potential hate crime –
“We as a state unite in support of these victims and their family members… We pray that God can be with those who have been harmed in any way and bind up their wounds.”
Police chief Greg Allen confirmed that in addition to the 20 confirmed fatalities, there were 26 wounded.
Various news reports said the ages of victims being treated at hospitals ranged from two to 82 years.
Police said that Walmart was “at capacity” at the time of the shooting, with 1,000-3,000 customers inside.
Police confirmed that a 21-year-old from Allen, Texas, was the only person in custody. US media identified him as Patrick Crusius, who is white. He surrendered to police about a block away from the Walmart.
“Right now we have a manifesto from this individual that indicates to some degree, it has a nexus to potential hate crime,” Allen said.
The “manifesto” purportedly written by Crusius that was circulated online includes passages railing against the “Hispanic invasion” of Texas and the author makes clear that he expected to be killed during his attack.
You might also like…Zulu king vows Ingonyama fight
AmaZulu King Goodwill Zwelithini has vowed to protect his land. The Presidential advisory panel on land reform has proposed scrapping his Ingonyama Trust which administers more than 2.8 million hectares of land in KwaZulu-Natal.
The King says he’s never been consulted about the presidential advisory panel’s recommendations on the land issue. continue reading…
Source: AFP
