El Paso shooting is 'domestic terrorism,' U.S. attorney says

(Image credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 4 August 2019

Federal officials are not avoiding any terms this time.

John F. Bash, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, said he has been in "close consultation" with U.S. Attorney General William Barr regarding the mass shooting in El Paso on Saturday that resulted in 20 deaths. Bash said they are treating the case as "domestic terrorism" and that prosecutors plan on delivering "swift and certain" justice.

Police believe the suspect in the shooting, a 21-year-old white male named Patrick Crusius, posted an anti-immigrant manifesto online describing an attack in El Paso in response to "the Hispanic invasion of Texas." The origin of the manifesto is still being investigated, but it has also led Bash to "seriously" consider bringing hate crime charges in the case because of the alleged racial motivation. Those charges could carry the death penalty. Read more at The Washington Post.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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