Current:Home > FinanceEl Paso mass shooter gets 90 consecutive life sentences for killing 23 people in Walmart shooting-LoTradeCoin
El Paso mass shooter gets 90 consecutive life sentences for killing 23 people in Walmart shooting
View Date:2024-12-23 20:33:48
The white Texas gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences Friday, after relatives of the victims berated him for days over the shooting that targeted Hispanic shoppers on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Patrick Crusius, 24, was sentenced to federal prison for committing one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. He pleaded guilty in February to nearly 50 federal hate crime charges after federal prosecutors took the death penalty off the table, although he could still face the death penalty in a separate case in a Texas state court that has yet to go to trial.
Crusius, wearing a jumpsuit and shackles, did not speak during the hearing and showed no reaction as the verdict was read. The judge recommended that he serve his sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado.
As he was led from the courtroom, the son of one of the victims shouted at him from the galley.
"We'll be seeing you again, coward," yelled Dean Reckard, whose mother, Margie Reckard, was slain in the attack. "No apologies, no nothing."
The sentencing took place not far from the El Paso Walmart where Crusius opened fire with an AK-style semiautomatic rifle. The attack came after he ranted online, warning of a "Hispanic invasion of Texas."
Some of the victims were citizens of Mexico. In addition to the dead, more than two dozen people were injured and numerous others were severely traumatized as they hid or fled.
Victim's relatives confront gunman for first time
Confronting the shooter face-to-face for the first time at a sentencing hearing this week, several relatives of the victims looked him in the eye and mocked his motivations, telling him his racist pursuits failed.
Thomas Hoffman lost his father, Alexander Hoffman, during the massacre, CBS Texas reported.
"You killed my father in such a cowardly way," Thomas Hoffman said. "He was not a racist like you."
Alexander Hoffman was an engineer who migrated to Mexico from Germany in the 1980s and enjoyed listening to The Beatles and watching James Bond movies, his daughter Elis said in a statement through an attorney. She described her father as a "gentle giant with a big heart."
"You're an ignorant coward and you deserve to suffer in jail and then burn in hell," Thomas Hoffman said, according to CBS Texas. "You are an evil parasite that is nothing without a weapon."
Hoffman held a photo of his father and looked directly at Crusius and said, "See it. See it."
It was unclear whether Crusius looked at the photo, but he could be seen swallowing while Hoffman said, "You can see it."
Francisco Rodriguez, the father of the youngest victim of the Walmart mass shooting — his 15-year-old son, Javier Amir Rodriguez — also addressed the gunman, El Paso CBS affiliate KDBC-TV reported. Rodriguez pulled out a necklace from around his neck holding his son's ashes, the station reported.
"I carry his ashes everywhere I go," he said, crying. "That's all I have left."
- In:
- Walmart
- El Paso
- Mass Shooting
veryGood! (58)
Related
- Oprah Winfrey Addresses Claim She Was Paid $1 Million by Kamala Harris' Campaign
- Service planned for former North Carolina Chief Judge John Martin
- Jack Wagoner, attorney who challenged Arkansas’ same-sex marriage ban, dies
- Camila and Matthew McConaughey's 3 Kids Look All Grown Up at Rare Red Carpet Appearance
- Georgia remains part of College Football Playoff bracket projection despite loss
- Professor William Decker’s Bio
- House approves bill to criminalize organ retention without permission
- As Netanyahu compares U.S. university protests to Nazi Germany, young Palestinians welcome the support
- 2025 Medicare Part B premium increase outpaces both Social Security COLA and inflation
- Score 67% off an HP Laptop, 44% off a Bissell Cleaner & More at QVC's Friends & Family Sale
Ranking
- Traveling to Las Vegas? Here Are the Best Black Friday Hotel Deals
- AP Week in Pictures: North America
- Net neutrality restored as FCC votes to regulate internet providers
- William Decker Founder of Wealth Forge Institute - AI Profit Pro Strategy Explained
- Wicked Director Jon M. Chu Reveals Name of Baby Daughter After Missing Film's LA Premiere for Her Birth
- Man, dog now missing after traveling on wooden homemade raft in Grand Canyon National Park
- Watch family members reunite with soldiers after 9 months of waiting
- United Methodists endorse change that could give regions more say on LGBTQ and other issues
Recommendation
-
Georgia lawmaker proposes new gun safety policies after school shooting
-
Wealth Forge Institute: THE LEAP FROM QUANTITATIVE TRADING TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
-
US abortion battle rages on with moves to repeal Arizona ban and a Supreme Court case
-
Dan Rather returns to CBS News for first time since 2005. Here's why
-
Lunchables get early dismissal: Kraft Heinz pulls the iconic snack from school lunches
-
18 indicted in alleged 2020 fake Arizona elector scheme tied to Trump, AG announces
-
Powerball winning numbers for April 24 drawing with $129 million jackpot
-
Starbucks offering half off drinks Thursday: How to get the deal