Patrick Crusius Sentenced to 90 Consecutive Life Sentences for El Paso Walmart Shooting Massacre

A Texas man who fatally shot 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in a targeted attack against people of Mexican descent was sentenced Friday to 90 consecutive life sentences.

Patrick Crusius, of Allen, pleaded guilty in February to 90 federal counts, including 45 hate crime charges. The plea agreement took the death penalty off the table, although he could still face the death penalty in a separate case in a Texas state court.

Minutes before the attack, Crusius posted a hate-filled racist screed online in which he referred to an “invasion” of immigrants to the United States, the Justice Department said. During the sentencing hearing, families of the victims confronted Crusius, berating him for the shooting.

The attack at the El Paso Walmart on August 3, 2019, was one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history. It left 23 people dead and more than two dozen injured. The attack was the first of three mass shootings that occurred in the United States within a span of a week.

The sentencing of Crusius comes as the nation continues to grapple with the issue of gun violence and hate crimes. The El Paso shooting was a stark reminder of the devastating impact of such crimes and the need for greater efforts to prevent them.