Deadliest Shooting Of The Year Leaves 20 Dead In El Paso, Texas
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The deadliest mass shooting so far this year happened today in El Paso, Texas. Twenty people were killed when a 21-year-old man opened fire inside a Walmart next to the Cielo Vista Mall.
Police say they were able to arrest the gunman at the scene. Tonight, officers surrounded his home in Allen-- which is just outside of Dallas.
The mall was particularly busy because it is tax-free weekend in Texas. Many unsuspecting families were ambushed just before 11 a.m. Mountain Time.
"I heard, 'do, do, do,' and then it went, 'do, do, do, do,' like closer together. I told him there's a shooter and we took off running towards the back of the store," one witness said.
Surveillance video from inside an El Paso Walmart shows a 21-year-old man entering the superstore with an assault rifle. Police say he began shooting at customers and employees.
"People just started bolting straight into the store in order to get to cover," another witness said.
A Walmart employee described the chaos when the shooting started.
"I heard them closer and louder, and that's when I realized, okay-- this is serious. I saw people running right away and that's when I reacted," the employee said.
Police chief Greg Allen said 20 people are dead and 26 are injured.
"Needless to say, the scene is a horrific one," he said.
The FBI is looking into this as a hate crime, but Allen did not elaborate any further during a press conference. The governor of Texas also spoke.
"On a day that would have been a normal day for someone to leisurely go shopping turned into one of the most deadly days in the history of Texas," Governor Greg Abbott said.
As this shooting happened, Minnesota Senator and presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar spoke at a trade union conference and addressed what was unfolding in El Paso.
"My heart goes to that town right now, but it is day after day we see these shootings," she said. "Literally every week, classroom of kids get killed. And I hope that this time, it's not just going to change the House of Representatives, that we're going to be able to put a President in place."
The victims' names and ages are unknown until investigators gather more evidence. In the press conference, the El Paso police chief was visibly distraught and said the ages are of a wide variety.
The chief said the crime scene will remain in place for a long time while investigators gather evidence.
