On Monday, Patrick Crusius, 26, pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated assault charges for shooting up an El Paso Walmart in 2019.
He was admittedly specifically targeting Hispanic people during the brutal attack that claimed 23 lives, and left 22 injured.
District Judge Sam Medrano declared the killer would spend the rest of his life behind bars to pay for his crimes.
‘You came to inflict terror, to take innocent lives and to shatter a community that had done nothing but stand for kindness, unity and love. You slaughtered fathers, mothers, sons and daughters,’ Medrano said.
‘Now as you begin the rest of your life locked away, remember this – your mission failed.’
During his sentencing, the courtroom was filled with more than 100 victim relatives, as well as some of the rampage’s survivors.
Dozens of those attendees were called to the stand on Monday and Tuesday to share victim impact statements to tell Crusius about the pain he caused and what the people he killed were like.
Adriana Zandri requested to hug Patrick Crusius in court on Tuesday after saying she forgave him during her testimony on Monday (pictured: Zandri hugging Crusius)
Crusius killed 23 people and injured 22 others when he shot up an El Paso Walmart using an AK-47 in 2019 (pictured: Crusius entering the store with his gun)
Crusius (pictured) will spend the rest of his life in prison, as he entered a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table
As those affected by his fatal actions rattled off their grievances and described their loved ones, Crusius seemed unmoved by their emotional assertions.
‘To me, you’re just a copycat killer who wanted some attention. My hope is you wake up each morning wishing you were dead,’ Dean Reckard, the son of Margie Reckerd who was killed by Crusius, passionately said in court on Tuesday.
‘I noticed your family isn’t here. They’ll probably have to hide for the rest of their lives because of the evil you brought upon their name.’
But among the justifiably angry testimonies were several forgiving ones from relatives trying to let go of the pain and resentment they have felt for more than five years.
Yolanda Tinajero was the first of two women who asked Medrano for permission to give Crusius a hug on Tuesday.
Her brother, Arturo Benavides, lost his life in the mass shooting, and she believed embracing the man who took his life would help give her closure.
‘Ma’am, would it truly bring you peace and comfort and healing to hug him?’ Medrano asked her.
After replying ‘yes’ and getting the judge’s go-ahead, Yolanda wrapped her arms around the killer as she sobbed, KTSM reported.
Yolanda Tinajero (pictured in court) was the first person to ask the judge to hug Crusius on Tuesday
Later in the session, Adriana Zandri, the wife of Ivan Filiberto Manzano, another man killed by Crusius, requested to hug the murderer as well.
Crusius kept his gaze low as Zandri awkwardly embraced him. The grieving wife had actually testified the day before, but attended court again on Tuesday as a spectator.
‘My children have lost their hero, their prince, their column, their support and their father,’ she said on Monday.
‘He’s not going to be there to teach my daughter how to play basketball. He is not going to be present to give my daughter’s hand in her wedding ceremony.
‘The only thing that I wanted was for them to not grow up with hatred in their hearts because the day they begin feeling hatred toward you is when their life will be over.’
Crusius was 21 years old when he drove for more than 10 hours from his home in suburban Dallas to El Paso and opened fire at the Walmart on August 3, 2019.
He wore earmuffs that blocked out the sound of gunfire when he started shooting people in the parking lot.
Then he moved inside the store and continued firing an AK-style rifle.
Crusius (pictured in court) remained stoic as he heard the dozens of impact statements from those suffering the consequences of his deadly actions
Yolanda Tinajero (right) sat with her family in court to share a statement about her brother, Arturo Benavidesm, who was shot and killed in the attack
Crusius (pictured in court in 2019) had already pleaded guilty to hate crime and weapons charges in 2023
He cornered shoppers at a bank near the entrance before shooting at the checkout area and people in aisles.
When he exited the store he fired at a passing car and killed an elderly man while wounding his wife.
Crusius was apprehended shortly after and confessed to officers who stopped him at an intersection, according to police.
In a posting to an online message board just before the massacre, Crusius, a white, community-college dropout, said the shooting was ‘in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.‘
He claimed Hispanics were going to take over the government and economy.
Crusius was apparently consumed by the nation’s immigration debate, tweeting #BuildtheWall and posts praising border policies of President Donald Trump, who was in his first term at the time.
After the shooting, Crusius admitted to officers he had targeted Mexican people. The individuals who were killed ranged in age from teenagers to grandparents.
They included immigrants and Mexican nationals who had crossed the U.S. border on routine shopping trips.
Arturo Benavides (pictured) was one of the victims killed in the brutal attack. His sister hugged his killer in court
Those killed were: Andre and Jordan Anchondo, Arturo Benavides, Leonardo Campos, Angie Englisbee, Maria and Raul Flores, Guillermo Garcia, Jorge Calvillo García, Adolfo Cerros Hernández, Alexander Gerhard Hoffman, and David Johnson.
Luis Alfonzo Juarez, Maria Eugenia Legarreta Rothe, Maribel Loya, Ivan Filiberto Manzano, Ivan Filiberto Manzano, Gloria Irma Márquez, Margie Reckard, Sara Esther Regalado Moriel, Javier Rodriguez, Teresa Sanchez, and Juan Velazquez also lost their lives.
Joe Spencer, one of Crusius´ attorneys, described him as ‘an individual with a broken brain’ in court on Thursday.
Spencer said Crusius has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which can be marked by hallucinations, delusions and mood swings.
‘This explanation of a severe mental illness and toxic political environment does not, in any way, justify or excuse the horrific violence that Patrick committed,’ Spencer clarified.
‘He bears responsibility for the choices he made and the devastation that he caused.’
Before he pleaded guilty to capital murder and 22 counts of aggravated assault on Monday, Crusius had already been sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences in federal court after pleading guilty to hate crime and weapons charges in 2023.
Last month, El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya offered him a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table.
Crusius (pictured during the attack) was consumed by the nation’s immigration debate, tweeting #BuildtheWall and posts praising border policies of President Donald Trump
The Walmart massacre specifically targeted Mexican shoppers (pictured: Walmart employees mourning after the shooting in 2019)
‘This is about allowing the families of the 23 victims who lost their lives on that horrific day – and the 22 wounded – to finally have resolution in our court system,’ Montoya said last month.
‘Now, no one in this community will ever have to hear the perpetrator’s name ever again. No more hearings. No more appeals. He will die in prison.’
