Suspected El Paso Shooter Patrick Crusius Attended High School In Frisco, Plano
EL PASO, TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) — The man suspected of shooting and killing multiple people near an El Paso mall Saturday afternoon has been identified as 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of Allen.
Crusius is accused of opening fire near Cielo Vista Mall, killing 22 people and injuring over two dozen more.
Officials announced Sunday that he could face the death penalty, along with federal hate crime and domestic terrorism charges.
More than a dozen members of law enforcement have since been seen outside an Allen home associated with Crusius.
Neighbors told CBS 11 that an older couple lives at the home authorities are focused on. Some believe there was another person living there over the years, but they did not recognize Crusius when shown a picture of him.
Crusius attended Liberty High School in Frisco but later transferred to Plano Senior High School, where he graduated in 2017.
In the 2017 Plano Senior High yearbook, a photo of Crusius — where he appears to be in a crime investigation class — was captioned, "It is interesting to learn about how the world of law enforcement works."
Crusius also attended Collin College from fall 2017 to spring 2019.
The community college has since released the following statement:
"Collin College is prepared to cooperate fully with state and federal authorities in their investigation of this senseless tragedy. We join the governor and all Texans in expressing our heartfelt concern for the victims of the shooting and their loved ones."
El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said the shooting "has a nexus to a hate crime." Authorities believe the North Texas-native posted a manifesto on the online forum 8chan, which listed "the Hispanic invasion of Texas" as one of the motivations for the attack.
Craig LeBlanc — who lives down the street from the Allen home — said he has a friend in El Paso who was caught in the chaos.
"You don't know who you're living next to," LeBlanc said. "You don't know who your neighbors are anymore. I'm part of the military, so I've seen things like this before — just not here. And that's the scariest part."
