U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas John Bash said Sunday that he has been in contact with Attorney General William Barr about the case against the person allegedly responsible for killing 20 people and injuring many others in El Paso, Texas on Saturday.
He says the U.S. government is working toward bringing federal hate crime charges and federal firearms charges against the suspect, which would carry a penalty of death.
He also said they are also treating it as a domestic terrorism case since it appears to be designed to intimidate the civilian population, adding that, “We’re going to do what we do to terrorists in this country.”
NEW: The U.S. district attorney said the government is looking at federal hate crime charges in the mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart that could come with the death penalty, calling the rampage a "domestic terrorism” case. https://t.co/4xPJhLAu7D pic.twitter.com/tdC0qmtrNB
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) August 4, 2019
El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said the suspect has basically told them everything (via ABC):
“He was forthcoming with information. He basically didn’t hold anything back,” El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said during Sunday’s news conference, declining to comment on specifics of what the alleged gunman told investigators.
District Attorney Jaime Esparza says the state of Texas will be seeking a capital murder charge and the suspect would be eligible for the death penalty.
District Attorney Jaime Esparza says a suspect who killed 20 people in a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas will face a charge of capital murder, and that prosecutors will be seeking the death penalty.
For the latest updates on this story, click here: https://t.co/Ny9Fw7LRLV pic.twitter.com/VXgRTvw3PD
— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 4, 2019
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