EL PASO, Texas – The North Texas man who shot and killed 23 people in a racist attack targeting Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in El Paso is expected to plead guilty to murder on Monday.
Patrick Crusius was offered a plea deal by the El Paso District Attorney that took the death penalty off the table last month. In exchange for pleading guilty to capital murder, the gunman would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Crusius, now 26, was previously sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences in federal court when he pleaded guilty to hate crime and weapons charges in 2023.
Monday’s plea deal would bring the case to an end.
El Paso Walmart Shooting
The backstory:
In 2019, Crusius drove 700 miles from his home in Allen, outside of Dallas, to El Paso to carry out the shooting.
READ MORE: Suspect in deadly El Paso mass shooting is from North Texas
On Aug. 3, 2019, he arrived at the Walmart shooting people in the parking lot and inside the store with an AK-style rifle.
Shortly before the attack started, Crusius posted on an online message board that the shooting was “in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.” He also claimed Hispanics were going to take over the government and economy.
After being apprehended by police, Crusius admitted to the shooting and told officers that he was targeting Mexicans.
23 people were killed, and 22 others were injured.
The victims ranged from a 15-year-old to grandparents.
El Paso Walmart shooter’s plea deal
Dig deeper:
El Paso District Attorney James Montoya said he offered the plea deal to Crusius because the families of many victims were eager for the case to come to an end. Some families have opposed the plea.
Montoya has said that the case may not have gone to trial until 2028 if his office had decided to continue to seek the death penalty.
What’s next:
The plea hearing for Crusius will begin at 10 a.m. on Monday.
He is expected to serve his time in a state prison.
A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons says that Crusius will enter the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice if he is sentenced on state charges.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press, FOX News and past FOX 4 coverage.
