Currents News Staff
The suspected shooter who killed 22 people inside an El Paso, Texas Wal-Mart on August 3, is in custody and reportedly volunteering information.
According to police, the suspect, Patrick Crusius, is showing no remorse while families, loved ones and the Texas community are suffering.
Residents have been filling vigils and memorials honoring the 20 lives tragically cut short during this weekend’s massacre.
“In El Paso we are one big family. We know that the country is mourning with us,” said Democratic Texas Representative Veronica Escobar.
The attack which injured at least 26 others has created an elevated sense of fear for many residents.
Survivors are now struggling to comprehend why they made it out alive when many did not.
“Everything that happened was just terrible, but we’re blessed. We’re blessed because we’re alive, and I pray for all those people that died, it was so many,” said witness Erika Contreras.
Two of those murdered were Andre and Jordan Anchondo, who were inside the Wal-Mart with their two-month-old son when the shooting began.
“She was just a wonderful person. She’d give anything for those kids, anything. Even her life,” said Jordan’s sister Leta Jamrowski.
That’s apparently what Jordan did that day by protecting her baby and using her body as a shield. The baby was injured, but survived.
“I want to just find my mom. Somebody needs to tell me where she is. I just want to know if she’s dead or alive,” was the emotional plea from one daughter that ended in heartbreak.
Among the victims are 86-year-old Angie Englisbee and 60-year-old Arturo Benavides, an army veteran and bus driver described by his niece as a “caring and strong-willed man,” with plenty of love left to share.
Police and federal authorities are still piecing together why the 21-year-old suspect allegedly went on a rampage.
Local police have said that the suspect is “cooperating” with investigators, and that he is unrepentant.
According to U.S. attorney John Bash, authorities are “treating it as a domestic terrorism case.”
Law enforcement sources have also stated that the suspect posted a four-page ‘manifesto’ online, filled with white nationalist and racist language, targeting immigrants and hispanics.
“We have a manifesto from this individual that to some degree has a nexus to a potential hate crime,” confirmed El Paso Police Department Chief Greg Allen.
Meanwhile, state officials are seeking the ultimate punishment.
“We will seek the death penalty,” said Jaime Esparza, a district attorney.
As of August 5, the death toll has continued to rise as an elderly woman died overnight, and another victim passed away a few hours later.