- Texas Walmart shooter sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms in federal prison
- Emotional testimony from witnesses during sentencing
- Possibility of facing death penalty in state court for capital homicide
In 2019, the Texas assailant who murdered 23 people at a Walmart was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms in federal prison.
After federal prosecutors announced they would not pursue the death penalty, the 24-year-old pleaded guilty.
The sentencing follows two days of emotional testimony from witnesses, during which the perpetrator faced survivors and family members.
It was among the most deadly mass massacres in American history.
Dean Reckard, whose mother Margie Reckard was slain in the shooting, yelled as police escorted Patrick Crusius out of the courtroom, “We will be seeing you again, you coward!”
In state court, the killer could still face the death penalty for capital homicide.
On Friday morning, more than fifty people sat in the courtroom in El Paso, while others gathered outside to witness the sentencing.
Carrying an assault-style rifle, the assailant targeted primarily Hispanic shoppers in El Paso, Texas, where he killed 23 and injured 22 more.
Minutes before spraying shoppers with bullets, the white shooter had posted an online screed replete with anti-immigrant hatred.
In February, he pleaded guilty to 90 offenses, including 23 counts of hate crime acts resulting in death, 22 counts of hate crime acts resulting in bodily harm, 23 counts of using a firearm in a federal crime of violence resulting in death, and 22 counts of using a firearm in a federal crime of violence.
Wednesday marked the first time that survivors and family members of those killed in the mass shooting spoke directly with the perpetrator.
The assailant showed little emotion as his victims’ families dubbed him a “monster,” “killer,” and “parasite” before punishment.
Some family members reprimanded the shooter for his responses to their statements.
“You can roll your eyes, smile, or smirk,” said the granddaughter of the deceased David Johnson.
One girl with tears in her eyes stated, “I used to be a joyful, normal adolescent until a coward chose to use violence against the innocent. I am no longer as content as I once was.”
After her husband’s death, Kathleen Johnson told the shooter she has night terrors and PTSD.
When asked by the son of another victim if he was sorry, the gunman nodded “yes” on Thursday.
The judge ordered him to receive mental health care at ADX Florence, a maximum-security prison in Colorado.
On August 3, 2019, a Walmart parking lot gunman with ear muffs, safety glasses, and an assault weapon started fire.
He shot victims in the checkout area, retail aisles, and bank near the door.
He was apprehended on the same day.
And he admitted leaving his residence near Dallas, approximately 650 miles away, to go to the 80% Hispanic border town to target Latinos.
A three-year-old child, whose parents were also slain, and elderly grandparents were among those killed. Eight of the victims were citizens of Mexico.
