Cops arrest two suspects after El Paso mall shooting that left one dead and three injured – right next to Walmart where white supremacist Patrick Crusius killed 23 people in 2019
- A shooting in El Paso on Wednesday night killed one person and injured three
- Two male suspects were brought into custody by the El Paso Police Dept.
- The first suspect was taken down by an off-duty officer who was in the mall
Two male suspects were brought into custody after one person was killed and three were injured in a shooting at a mall in El Paso on Wednesday night.
Police responded to reports of shots fired at the Cielo Vista Mall at around 5.05pm, said interim El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas. They arrived at the scene three minutes later and brought one suspect into custody as they searched for a second.
El Paso police officials said an off-duty police officer who was working at a store in the mall was able to take down the first suspect ‘in a very quick amount of time’.
‘It was chaotic. People did flee. They were scared,’ El Paso Police Sgt. Robert Gomez said. Two male victims were taken to University Medical Center in critical condition, the hospital told CNN. A third male victim was taken to the Del Sol Medical center and said to be in fair condition.
Video uploaded to Twitter shows people running through the mall as police descended upon the scene. Police said there were indications that the shooting happened in the mall’s food court.
The Cielo Vista Mall is right next to a Walmart Supercenter where in 2019 23 people were killed and a further 22 were injured in another shooting. Last week Patrick Crusius, now 24, plead guilty to the racially motivated killings, which were intended to ‘target Mexicans’.
One of the two suspects was arrested immediately after the shooting at around 5pm as police searched for a second
One person was killed and three were injured in a shooting at a mall in El Paso on Wednesday night
Police responded to reports of shots fired at the Cielo Vista Mall at around 5.05pm
‘Police are responding to shots fired in the food court of Cielo Vista Mall, scene still active. Avoid the area,’ tweeted El Paso police at 6.19pm.
In the hours after the shooting police said they were working to clear the mall. At 9.20pm they were still asking people to remain away from the area.
The incident at the El Paso mall on Wednesday was the 73rd mass shooting to have taken place in the US this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he has been speaking with the mayor of El Paso.
‘I spoke to Mayor Leeser about the shooting tonight in El Paso,’ he said on Twitter.
‘I offered the full support of the State of Texas, including the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Division of Emergency Management to help the city of El Paso respond to this tragic event.’
Two male victims were taken to University Medical Center of El Paso in critical condition
‘Police are responding to shots fired in the food court of Cielo Vista Mall, scene still active. Avoid the area,’ tweeted El Paso police at 6.19pm
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he has been speaking with the mayor of El Paso