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Patrick Crusius shot dead 23 people and wounded 22 others at an El Paso Walmart store on Aug. 3, 2019.
The gunman who killed 23 people at a Walmart in the South Texas city of El Paso in 2019 was sentenced Friday to 90 consecutive life sentences.
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The sentence was handed down by federal Judge David Guaderrama after a three-day hearing. It adheres to a February plea deal in which 24-year-old shooter Patrick Crusius pleaded guilty and agreed to 90 consecutive life sentences to avoid the federal death penalty.
The Latino-targeting white supremacist had initially pleaded not guilty to all 90 federal charges, including hate crimes and firearms offenses.
On August 3, 2019, Crusius shot and killed 23 people and wounded 22 others at a Walmart store in El Paso, a major border city in West Texas. This is one of the deadliest attacks on Latinos in modern U.S. history.
Families of victims were there when Patrick Crusius was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences for killing 23 people in a racist attack on Hispanic shoppers at a Texas Walmart.
— Star-Advertiser (@StarAdvertiser) July 8, 2023
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The gunman did not speak in court and showed no reaction when the sentence was read. His lawyer, Joe Spencer, said Crusius suffered from a mental disorder called schizoaffective disorder that led him to carry out the shooting.
Prosecutors refuted that claim and said Crusius knew what he was doing when he carried out the massacre. U.S. Attorney Ian Martinez Hanna said, "what occurred was a cold, calculated plan directed against immigrants and Hispanics."
Crusius also faces a possible death penalty in another state case, in which he has pleaded not guilty to capital murder. The state trial is expected to be held at some point in 2024 or 2025.
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