Texas police officers responded to an active shooter report near a local Walmart in El Paso on Saturday morning. There were no immediate reports of injuries or fatalities.
El Paso police said on Twitter the scene in the Cielo Vista Mall area was still active and asked people to stay clear of the active scene.
The shooter was reported shortly before 11 a.m. local time. Local media reported that multiple SWAT teams responded to the scene, while at least three businesses in the area were on lockdown.
The mall complex is near Interstate 10 and on El Paso’s east side.
Additional details were not immediately available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates
On a Saturday morning at 11:00 am, Walmart is the busiest place to be for shopping. The Mayor’s Chief of Staff said the 21-year-old white male suspect is in custody. The active shooter was wearing black. Shooter was taken into custody without incident but the Walmart is still not a safe scene.
Initially, eleven people had been taken to one hospital and seven more to a second hospital.
I’m sure all American’s prayers go out to the victims and their families. Another senseless tragedy. ~ Natalie
Twenty confirmed fatalities have been reported with reportedly 26 injured taken to multiple area hospitals with ages ranging from 2 years old to seniors.. University Medical Center has reported one of the 13 victims being treated there has died. The Del Sol hospital reported 11 victims, 9 are critical but in stable condition with victims ranging from 35 to 82 years old. There is a level 2 trauma system at the Del Sol hospital where specialists who worked on the very badly injured victims were general surgeons, trauma surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, urologists & anesthesiologists. Staff from their sister city in Las Palmas came in to help with those in the trauma center.
There were many scared people. People were running in different directions very frightened for their lives and loved ones. It was reported the shooter started shooting in the parking lot of the Walmart. One woman was laying on the ground in front of the store. She was shot and was screaming out for her son, “Where is my son?” Another young couple were inside in the back of the store when the gentleman asked his wife if she heard shots. She indicated that she heard the shots and there were no less than 200 with shots coming in a very quick succession indicating a high powered weapon maybe an AR-15 or an M-14. They’ve just confirmed it was an AK-47 high powered weapon that the shooter used to injure and kill.
People going out to a public place should think about their escape routes, their actions if faced with this kind of tragedy. Get cover behind concrete, a car and try to be as prepared as possible.
Citing law enforcement officials, multiple media reports named the suspect as Patrick Crusius. Authorities from ATF and FBI surrounded the upscale home in Allen, TX looking for more clues and potential evidence to try and understand why this 21-year-old man committed such a horrific crime on a day where innocent people were going to Walmart for a day of shopping. The shooter’s manifesto found has a nexus to a potential hate crime. A four-page statement posted on 8chan, an online message board often used by extremists, and believed to have been authored by the suspect, called the Walmart attack “a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”
The tragedy in El Paso came just six days after a teenage gunman opened fire with an assault-style rifle on a crowd attending the annual Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California, killing three people and injuring a dozen others before he was shot by police and ultimately took his own life.
We are left asking why? Why do these senseless shootings continue to happen. One person made the following analysis, “There is a sick element in our society that is manifesting itself amongst those born around the time of the Columbine High School shootings: its the glorification of the carnage and the idolization of those two monsters.” It could be multiple reasons that make these people into killers. No family support, neglect, desensitization due to video games, horror slash thriller movies, exposed to bad on social media, introverted, a loner, exposed to physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse & no adequate mental health care facilities to help these people get adequate treatment.
~ Natalie
Today’s shooter drove from Allen, a northern suburb of Dallas to El Paso, TX and MSM has fixated what the public hears from the Democratic Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke.
Lucia I. Suarez Sang is a Reporter & Editor for FoxNews.com. Follow her on Twitter @luciasuarezsang
— Read on www.foxnews.com/us/texas-police-respond-to-active-shooter-at-el-paso-walmart
El Paso Times reported the following.
The El Paso Police Department said Saturday that an active shooting incident was reported at the Walmart in Cielo Vista Mall area. Police say multiple shooters might be involved.
A police spokesman said the shooting is still active and said no one will be allowed into the area.
A police source confirmed the shooting.
KTSM said 18 people have been shot, although the El Paso Times has not been able to confirm that.
Residents are being told to avoid the area.
This story will be updated.
BREAKING: Confirmed active shooter at Walmart near Cielo Vista Mall
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) —
UPDATE: KTSM can confirm that 18 people were shot inside the Walmart. The extent of their injuries is unknown at this time.
El Paso Police and multiple other law enforcement agencies are responding to a shooting at the Walmart an active shooter situation.
Details are limited at this time.