Gunman in racist attack at a Texas Walmart pleads guilty and families confront him in court

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Maribel Hernandez and her husband, Leonardo Campos, were shopping at a Walmart in a Texas border city in 2019 when a gunman who wanted to stop what he believed was a Hispanic invasion opened fire, killing them and 21 others.

On Monday, Hernandez's daughter, Yvonne Loya Gonzalez, spoke directly to the gunman, Patrick Crusius, after he pleaded guilty to capital murder in the El Paso massacre: "Their absence in my life has left a deep void in my heart."

The statements by family members and victims that began Monday afternoon are expected to continue through Wednesday. Some, including Gonzalez, told Crusius they have forgiven him.

“I have no more room for hate in my heart,” she said.

Crusius, a white 26-year-old community college dropout, did not address the families while accepting the plea deal, which he made after local prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table. He had already been sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms on federal hate crime charges. His accepting of the plea agreement ends six years of efforts to punish him by state and federal authorities.

Crusius, who wore a striped jumpsuit, shackles and a protective vest during the hearing, drove more than 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) from his home near Dallas to carry out the shooting on Aug. 3, 2019.

"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,” State District Judge Sam Medrano said.

“Now as you begin the rest of your life locked away, remember this: your mission failed,” he continued. “You did not divide this city, you strengthened it. You did not silence its voice, you made it louder. You did not instill fear, you inspired unity. El Paso rose, stronger and braver.”

Medrano sentenced Crusius to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

While one of his lawyers, Joe Spencer, told the court, "We offer our deepest condolences,” Crusius did not explicitly apologize Monday for his actions.

Crusius also pleaded guilty Monday to 22 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which were enhanced with violence and prejudice findings, in relation to the 22 people who were injured but survived the shooting. He was sentenced to 22 additional life sentences on those counts.

“Patrick will leave prison only in a coffin on God’s time,” Spencer said.

Crusius has acknowledged he targeted Hispanics in the attack at the Walmart in the border city that was crowded with weekend shoppers from the U.S. and Mexico.

In a posting to an online message board just before the massacre, Crusius said the shooting was "in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas." He said Hispanics were going to take over the government and economy.

On social media, he appeared consumed by the nation's immigration debate. After the shooting, Crusius told officers he had targeted Mexicans.

Spencer told the court Crusius has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which can be marked by hallucinations, delusions and mood swings. “His thinking became increasingly divorced from reality,” he said.

“We share this not as an excuse, but as part of the explanation for the inexplicable,” he said.

Before the attack, Crusius appears to have been consumed by the immigration debate, posting online in support of building a border wall and praising the hard-line border policies of President Donald Trump, who was in his first term at the time.

“He latched onto hateful rhetoric, particularly the dangerous and false narratives surrounding immigration being repeated in political discourse,” Spencer said.

Dozens of relatives of victims made also emotional statements during a similar hearing in federal court in 2023 that lasted for three days.

The people who were killed at Walmart ranged in age from a 15-year-old high school athlete to elderly grandparents. They included immigrants, a retired city bus driver, a teacher, tradesmen including a former iron worker, and several Mexican nationals who had crossed the U.S. border on routine shopping trips.

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Stengle contributed from Dallas.