A Texas grand jury handed down capital murder indictments against the man who allegedly opened fire on customers and employees at an El Paso Walmart, killing 22 and wounding many more. If convicted, the man will face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
El Paso District Attorney Jaime Esparza previously stated that he would seek the death penalty in the case of the Allen, Texas, man who allegedly drove for hours to open fire on a Walmart store where he is charged with using a rifle to kill 22 people and wound dozens more, Breitbart Texas reported.
“We will seek the death penalty,” the district attorney told reporters in a press conference the day after the shooting. “We will hold him accountable.”
The El Paso DA reiterated his intent to seek the death penalty again this week, KVIA ABC7 in El Paso reported. He said the trial could last for months, as up to 600 witnesses may be given the opportunity to testify. The trial is estimated to cost the taxpayers of El Paso more than $5 million.
Police claim the shooter confessed to his alleged crimes at the time of arrest, the local ABC affiliate stated.
The shooter allegedly opened fire on customers at a Walmart filled with back-to-school shoppers. Within a few minutes, the shooter allegedly killed 20 people and sent 26 others to area hospitals — including at least two children. The Cielo Vista shopping area is well-known to be a place where Mexican nationals also shop. At least three of the dead were Mexican nationals, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in a Twitter video.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott promised the people of El Paso, “We are going to aggressively prosecute it both as capital murder but also as a hate crime, which is exactly what it appears to be.” The governor said the thoughts, actions, and crimes allegedly committed by the shooter “are not who and what Texas is and we will not tolerate it.”
Authorities say they arrested the alleged shooter a short distance away from the Walmart and placed him into custody without incident. El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said that none of his officers responded to the active-shooter incident within six minutes and did not fire any rounds in response to the shooting. He referenced a manifesto allegedly written by the accused shooter, calling it a “potential nexus to a hate crime.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Face
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