. Police say he drove more than 700 miles from his home near Dallas to target Hispanics with an AK-style rifle inside and outside the Walmart store. Moments before the attack began, Crusius posted a racist screed online that warned of a Hispanic 'invasion' of Texas. He pleaded guilty in February after federal prosecutors took the death penalty off the table. But Texas prosecutors have said they will try to put Crusius on death row when he stands trial in state court. That trial date has not yet been set. Joe Spencer, Crusius' attorney, told the judge before the sentencing that his client had a 'broken brain' and that he had lost touch with reality. "Patrick's thinking is at odds with reality … resulting in delusional thinking,' Spencer told the court. The sentencing by US District Judge David Guaderrama in El Paso followed two days of impact statements from relatives of the victims, including citizens of Mexico. In addition to the dead, more than two dozen people were injured and numerous others were severely traumatised as they hid or fled. But Texas prosecutors have said they will try to put Crusius on death row when he stands trial in state court. That trial date has not yet been set. The sentencing by U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama in El Paso followed two days of impact statements from relatives of t){kind=link}
Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty earlier this year to nearly 50 federal hate crime charges in the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, making it one of the U.S. government’s largest hate crime cases.
A white gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack on Hispanic shoppers at an American supermarket has been sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences.
Patrick Crusius could still face the death penalty, however.
The 24-year-old pleaded guilty earlier this year to nearly 50 federal hate crime charges in the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso in August 2019.
Crusius, wearing a jumpsuit and shackles, showed no visible reaction as the sentence was read out yesterday (FRI).