El Paso, Texas — A man who killed 23 people in a racist attack on Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart store in a border city of Texas he was sentenced Friday to 90 consecutive life terms, but could still face further punishment, including the death penalty.
Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty earlier this year to nearly 50 federal hate crime charges in the shooting at close range of 2019 in El Paso, making it one of the largest hate crime cases in the United States government.
Crusius, wearing overalls and shackled, did not speak during the hearing and did not show any reaction when the sentence was read. US District Judge David Guaderrama recommended that Crusius serve his sentence in a maximum-security prison in Colorado.
Crusius still faces a separate trial in a Texas court that could end with the death penalty for carrying out one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history.
As Crusius was removed from the courtroom, the son of one of the victims yelled at him.
Police say Crusius drove more than 700 miles from his home near Dallas to assault Hispanics with an AK-style rifle inside and outside the store. Moments before the attack began, Crusius posted a racist tirade online warning of a Hispanic “invasion” of Texas.
Crusius pleaded guilty in February after federal prosecutors took the death penalty off the table. But Texas prosecutors have indicated they will try to put Crusius on death row once he stands trial in state court. The date of that trial has not yet been set.
Joe Spencer, Crusius’ attorney, told the judge before sentencing that his client has a “broken brain.”
“Patrick’s thinking is at odds with reality…resulting in delusional thinking,” Spencer explained.
Crusius became alarmed by his own violent thoughts, Spencer said, and once quit a job at a movie theater because of them. He added that Crusius searched the internet for ways to address his mental health and dropped out of a community college near Dallas because of his problems.
Spencer said Crusius came to El Paso with no specific goal in mind before ending up at Walmart.
“Patrick acted with his brain broken grounded in delusions,” Spencer said.
The sentence in El Paso comes after two days of shocking statements from relatives of the victims, including Mexican citizens. In addition to those killed, more than two dozen people were injured and many others severely traumatized after hiding or fleeing the attack.
Crusius’s family was not in the courtroom during the sentencing phase.
The attack was the deadliest of a dozen mass shootings in the United States linked to hate crimes since 2006, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.
FUENTE: AP
