Twenty people have been killed and a further 26 were injured on Saturday in a shooting near a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, the state’s governor has confirmed.
Texas Governor, Greg Abbott told reporters that the tragedy was “one the deadliest days in the history of Texas.”
A 21-year-old white man from Allen, near Dallas, has been arrested after surrendering to officers at the scene, Police chief Greg Allen said.
He added that authorities are currently pursuing a murder investigation but that they are also examining “a manifesto” indicating that “there is a potential nexus to a hate crime.”
Law enforcement were first alerted of the shooting at a Walmart store near the Cielo Vista mall in El Paso, Texas, at 10:39 am local time. At about 3:30 pm local time, El Paso police department Sgt Gomez said the area was locked down and there was no longer a threat to the public.
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“We’re in shock over the tragic events,” Walmart tweeted, adding: “we’re working closely with law enforcement and will update as appropriate.”
The WalMart store, which had at least 100 employees present at the time, is to remain closed for the coming days, with Chief Allen explaining that “the scene will be in play for a long period.”
Watch the press conference below:
The police department tweeted that blood was “needed urgently”. They said “multiple injured” were transported to various hospitals.
A hospital spokesperson for the Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso told Euronews that at least 11 people had been transferred there.
“We will continue to utilize all available resources to respond to this senseless act of violence,” the Mayor of El Paso, Dee Margo tweeted.
A family reunification centre was set up for family members, El Paso police confirmed to Euronews, and a donation page was created by the authorities “to support the victims and families of this needless violence.”
Three of the fatalities and six of the wounded are Mexican nationals, according to Mexican authorities.
No law enforcement person fired a weapon, Sgt Gomez told reporters.
Police told people to avoid the Cielo Vista mall in a series of tweets on Saturday morning local time due to an active shooter. Earlier the El Paso police tweeted that there were multiple reports of “multiple shooters.” Later they said there was only one shooter.
Texas’ governor Greg Abbott said in a statement: “our hearts go out to the victims of this horrific shooting.”
He said the state had deployed troopers, special agents, tactical teams and aircraft.
People were stranded as police secured the area, according to local US news reports. El Paso is a city of more than 600,000 people located on the US’ southern border with Mexico.
US President Donald Trump said he had spoken with the state’s governor “to pledge total support of Federal Government” and described it as “an act of cowardice.”
“There are no reasons or excuses that will ever justify killing innocent people,” he added.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered his “condolences to the families of the victims, both American and Mexican.”
A few hours later, a shooting in Dayton, Ohio, resulted in the death of nine people. the two incidents come less a week after a shooting at a garlic festival in Northern California killed three people and injured 15.
