Log In


Reset Password
  • MENU
    Nation
    Monday, June 17, 2024

    El Paso gunman who killed 23 in racist attack at Walmart agrees to pay $5 million to victims

    El Paso Walmart shooting suspect Patrick Crusius pleads not guilty during his arraignment in El Paso, Texas, Oct. 10, 2019. (Briana Sanchez/The El Paso Times via AP, Pool, File)

    DALLAS — Patrick Crusius, the shooter who killed 23 in a 2019 attack targeting Hispanic people at a Walmart in El Paso, has agreed to pay more than $5 million to victims and their families.

    The Associated Press reports Crusius, 25, will pay $5,557,005.55 in restitution according to a court motion granted and signed by U.S. Federal District Judge David C. Guaderrama.

    Crusius, of Allen, pleaded guilty to 90 federal hate crimes and firearms violations Feb. 8 after federal prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty. He was sentenced to 90 life sentences July 7. He is still awaiting a trial date in Texas state court, where prosecutors have indicated they will seek the death penalty.

    The Aug. 3, 2019 attack, which prosecutors argued was motivated by white nationalist ideals, was one of the worst mass shootings in American history and was the deadliest hate-crime-related shooting since 2006, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

    Crusius traveled hundreds of miles from North Texas to El Paso, before opening fire on shoppers from both Mexico and the U.S. with an AK-style rifle, injuring 22 in addition to the staggering death toll. Minutes prior to the shooting, Crusius posted an online tirade about a “Hispanic invasion” of the U.S. government and economy.

    The restitution amount is significant, as is the case with many federal cases, however, according to the justice department website, “While defendants may make partial payments toward the full restitution owed, it is rare that defendants are able to fully pay the entire restitution amount owed.”

    Crusius likely does not have assets to pay the full restitution amount, as he committed the crime at 21 after dropping out of community college and working at a movie theater.

    Crusius will serve his life sentences at a supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.

    Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.