US Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday recalled El Paso’s mass shooting in 2019, when 23 people lost their lives, and said that it was an “act of hate that targeted Latinos, fueled by white supremacy.”
Kamala Harris further emphasized recommitting to achieving a future where people can live free from hate and fear.
“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,” Kamala Harris said in a post on X.
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The US Vice President further said that she and her husband, who is also the US Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, join the community in remembering the lives lost in the “senseless act fueled by white supremacy.”
“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 stated.
“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,” the Vice President added.
On August 3, 2019, at least 22 people were killed and 27 others were injured after the gunman opened fire in a Walmart shopping center in El Paso. The suspect was identified by the police as a 21-year-old white man named Patrick Crusius, who was believed to be spurred by his hatred for immigrants.
According to an affidavit written by Detective Adrian Garcia of the El Paso Police Department, the accused stepped out of a vehicle with his hands up and said that he was the shooter when he was surrounded by police officers, New York Times reported.
When the police were responding to reports of an active shooting situation, rangers with the Texas Department of Public Safety saw the vehicle stop at an intersection near the Walmart store.
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The man went inside and admitted opening fire on customers and employees, the document said.
During the investigation, the suspect said that he had used an AK-47-style gun and brought multiple magazines containing ammunition from Texas to carry out the mass shooting, Garcia wrote in the affidavit.
El Paso is home to a large majority of the Latino population and sits on the US-Mexico border.
Inputs from ANI