Face of Nation : The North Texas man charged with capital murder for killing 20 people in a mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart might face federal domestic terrorism and hate-crime charges as investigators probe his suspected anti-immigrant screed posted online shortly before the attack.
Patrick Crusius, 21, was booked into the El Paso County Jail early Sunday morning on a charge of capital murder. He is accused of walking into a crowded Walmart on Saturday and targeting customers and employees, leaving 20 dead and another 27 injured.
Investigators believe Crusius posted a 2,356-word “manifesto” that appeared on the anonymous message board 8chan less than a half hour before the shooting. The four-page document shared widely online contains anti-immigrant and racist rhetoric, advocates a plan to divide the nation into territories by race and warns of an impending yet unspecified attack.
“From the manifesto that we first saw, we attribute that manifesto directly to him,” El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said Sunday afternoon. Federal investigators, however, have not said whether they have linked Crusius to the manifesto. If hate is a factor in the shootings, federal authorities would bring those charges.
The document listed political and economic grievances and foreshadowed a premeditated attack, including the weapon and ammunition the killer would use. Crusius was a 2017 graduate of Plano Senior High School, according to Lesley Range-Stanton, a spokesperson for Plano Independent School District.
