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el paso shooting
5 Years After El Paso Shooting, Calls for Fighting Gun Violence and Racism
"When politicians use 'great replacement' conspiracies and xenophobia to stoke fear and divide us, real people pay the price in blood," said Democratic Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro.
Aug 04, 2024
Saturday marked five years since a self-described white nationalist killed 23 people and injured 22 others with an AK-47-style semiautomatic rifle at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and the anniversary sparked fresh calls for efforts to combat gun violence and racism.
"Five years after a man armed with hate and a gun drove into our community and stole the lives of 23 of our friends and neighbors, we still feel the pain of their absence," said Myndi Luevanos, a volunteer with the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action in El Paso, in a statement. "Since the shooting, our leaders have refused to meet the moment, failing to enact common-sense gun safety measures that could save lives and address the disproportionate rate of gun violence faced by the Latinx community in Texas."
"Half a decade later, we cannot let the failures of the past become the norm," Luevanos continued. "Now more than ever, we must honor the victims and their families with action and protect Latinx Texans for generations to come from gun violence."
The group Brady said on social media that "easy access to guns, especially assault rifles, makes hate lethal. We must #HonorWithAction and #DisarmHate."
The shooter, Patrick Wood Crusius, is serving 90 consecutive life sentences after being convicted of federal hate crimes and in September agreed to "pay restitution in the amount of $5,557,005.55" to victims' families. Both Republican District Attorney Bill Hicks and his Democratic opponent for this November's election, James Montoya, hope to have him tried in front of a jury on state charges by next year. In the Texas case, he could face the death penalty.
Crusius, who traveled nearly 600 miles across the state to the border city where he shot dozens of people, wrote in a racist manifesto posted online before the attack that he aimed to address the "Hispanic invasion of Texas." He is one of multiple mass shooters who have cited the "great replacement" theory that white people will be replaced by people of color.
"Hate speech isn't just words—it has real, devastating consequences," UnidosUS stressed on social media. "The anniversary of El Paso reminds us of this. Words have power—they can heal or harm. We decide to use our voice to create a world where no one lives in fear."
The 2019 massacre was "the deadliest attack on the Latinx community in America," noted Mireya Rodriguez, a volunteer with Students Demand Action in Texas. "Racism emboldens violence and set against Texas' weak gun laws, you get a recipe for the very tragedy that shattered El Paso."
"Our leaders have a responsibility to reject racist and anti-immigration rhetoric, yet it's no secret that some Texas politicians have chosen to embrace, rather than condemn that hatred," the activist added. "We won't stand for that. We will honor the lives stolen through our advocacy to end gun violence and combat white supremacy in all forms."
As Common Dreamsreported Friday, a new analysis from eight groups "exposes the normalization of xenophobic 'great replacement' and 'invasion' conspiracies within the 118th Congress, documenting their historical roots and widespread promotion by members of Congress." It features examples from two Texas Republicans: Congressmen Lance Gooden and Jodey Arrington.
Democratic Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro said on social media Saturday that "we can honor the lives lost and the families affected by denouncing the awful rhetoric that incited this act of hate."
"When politicians use 'great replacement' conspiracies and xenophobia to stoke fear and divide us, real people pay the price in blood," Castro added. "As we remember the victims in El Paso, we have to call out those who use vile rhetoric to lead. There's no place for hate in this country."
Sharing the names of the El Paso victims of social media, March for Our Lives—launched after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida—said, "Let's be clear: This was a racist, anti-immigrant act of terror."
"The shooter's 'great replacement theory' language is deadly, fueled by our leaders who demonize immigrants and people of color," the group asserted. "Their words have real, fatal consequences."
March for Our Lives last month gave its first-ever political endorsement to Vice President Kamala Harris, who on Friday secured enough delegates for Democratic nomination to face former President Donald Trump. The Republican—who in July survived an assassination attempt by a shooter at a Pennsylvania campaign event—was in Georgia on Saturday, spewing anti-migrant rhetoric to a rally crowd.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden released a lengthy statement and Harris said that "five years ago today, 23 people were killed and 22 others were injured during a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas that was carried out with a weapon of war. It was an act of hate that targeted Latinos."
"Doug and I join the community in remembering those who lost their lives in this senseless act fueled by white supremacy, and we are thinking of those who were injured," she continued, referring to her husband. "As we honor the lives that were taken and support the survivors, we recommit ourselves to achieving a future where every person can live free from gun violence, fear, and hate."
Harris is spending the weekend vetting potential vice presidential candidates, including Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, JB Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Tim Walz of Minnesota.
Kelly's wife is Gabby Giffords, a former Democratic congresswoman who resigned after she survived a 2011 assassination attempt outside a grocery store in Arizona. She now leads a gun violence prevention group called GIFFORDS.
The El Paso tragedy "happened because someone who was fueled by hate was able to easily access a gun," she said in a statement. "Americans deserve better. The Latino community deserves better. People should be able to walk into a Walmart without the fear of being shot."
Giffords also pointed out that five years ago, "hours after a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, Dayton, Ohio experienced a parallel tragedy outside a bar, when a Saturday night out turned into horror and loss."
"This weekend, I'm thinking of those lost that night and the survivors whose lives were irrevocably changed," she said. "GIFFORDS stands with the Dayton community and we will never give up in our fight to stop gun violence."
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Family Members Condemn Racist El Paso Gunman as Judge Hands Down 90 Life Sentences
"My message to the shooter was that he wanted to take down Mexicans. He wanted to get rid of the Hispanic people here in El Paso," said the niece of one of the victims. "We're still here and we're not going anywhere."
Jul 07, 2023
The self-described white nationalist who massacred 23 people and injured 22 others with an AK-47-style rifle in El Paso, Texas in 2019 was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences on Friday, following two days of courtroom statements in which survivors and family members of those who were killed in the attack directly addressed the gunman's racist views.
Addressing Patrick Crusius, the survivors condemned the shooter as a "monster" and a "coward" and spoke about the lasting trauma he inflicted on them when he entered a Walmart armed with the gun and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, intent on killing Latino people in the border city.
Stephanie Melendez, whose father, David Johnson, was killed as he saved his wife and nine-year-old granddaughter from the gunfire by shielding them under a checkout counter, talked about the attack's affect on her daughter Kaitlyn.
"You showed her evil, you showed her monsters do exist outside of storybooks," Melendez told Crusius. "I want you to remember my daughter's cries. I want them to haunt you."
Alfredo Hernandez, whose sister Maribel was killed, also said he no longer has a sense of security when he is in public places and told Crusius he is always "on the lookout for other psychos like you."
Amaris Vega, whose aunt, Teresa Sanchez, was killed by Crusius, told KFOX14 on Thursday that he "failed" to accomplish the goal he put forward in the racist manifesto that he posted online before the attack, in which he said he wanted to address the "Hispanic invasion of Texas."
"My message to the shooter was that he wanted to take down Mexicans. He wanted to get rid of the Hispanic people here in El Paso. But he didn't do that," Vega said. "He didn't win. We're still here and we're not going anywhere."
Echoing the rhetoric of numerous Republican politicians—including then-President Donald Trump—about a so-called "invasion" by immigrants and asylum-seekers from Central America, Crusius wrote that he was "defending [his] country from cultural and ethnic replacement" and said the people shopping at Walmart on August 3, 2019 were "the instigators."
Since the shooting, the GOP's claims that asylum-seekers are "invading" the U.S. have continued, with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp using the term in campaign ads last year. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has also persisted in accusing immigrants of an "invasion."
Crusius' sentencing on Friday, and the anguish and grief expressed by the family members of those he killed, served as a reminder that "hateful rhetoric against our communities [has] real consequences," said Erika Andiola, communications director for the Young Center, which advocates for children in the immigration system.
Margaret Juarez, whose father was killed and whose mother survived the attack with injuries, directly addressed Crusius' manifesto and his claim that Hispanic immigrants instigated the shooting.
"Native Americans and Mexicans were already here before your American settler homies rolled in," Juarez said in the courtroom. "Think about that when you say you're defending your country."
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