At least 18 people have been shot inside a Walmart near the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas on Saturday. Texas officials said the suspected gunman, a 21-year-old male, is in custody. An official in the El Paso mayor's office told the media that there were multiple fatalities, though she would not say how many fatalities there were. Video posted on social media shows panicked shoppers running for cover inside the mall during the shooting on Saturday. The image on the far left shows one shopper being escorted by a police officer. She is seen with blood stains on her clothing. Social media users say a manifesto circulated by the alleged shooter has been posted on extremist web sites.
He then walked through the front door in a calm and confident state, as if he was 'on a mission', a witness said.
The twenty-minute massacre that followed would go on to become the eighth deadliest in US history.
One suspect in Saturday's mass shooting in El Paso is in custody. He has been identified in press reports as Patrick Crusius, a 21-year-old man from Dallas. Crusius is allegedly the man seen in surveillance footage walking in through the front entrance of the Walmart with an AK-47 assault rifle
The gunman is seen wearing what appears to be either headphones or ear defenders during the shooting on Saturday
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Crusius is allegedly the man seen in surveillance footage walking in through the front entrance of the Walmart with an AK-47 assault rifle. He is seen right in a photograph that was reportedly taken after his arrest in El Paso on Saturday
In a press conference, El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen confirmed the suspect to be a 21-year-old from Allen but declined to confirm his name.
Gregg added that law enforcement was in possession of a manifesto written by the suspect which shows a possible 'nexus' to a hate crime.
Copies of the document had been shared on social media hours earlier in which Crusius cited a 'Hispanic invasion of Texas' as his motive for the shooting.
Crusius' family home in Dallas is some 650 miles - or a nine-hour drive - from the scene of the shooting in the southern Texas city, which has a large Hispanic population.
Three Mexican nationals are among the dead, according to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, with another six among the injured.
The Cielo Vista Mall is a popular shopping destination for people both sides of the US-Mexico border.
'F*** this is going to be so s*** but I can't wait any longer,' a message on the forum Crusius is said to have posted the manifesto on reads, dated Saturday, August 3, just hours before the shooting.
'I know that the media is going to try to frame my incorrectly, but y'all will know the truth! I'm probably going to die today.'
One eye-witness captured the moment the suspect, believed to be Crusius, was taken into custody on Saturday afternoon. The reported suspect lives some 650 miles away from the scene of the El Paso shooting
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A separate angle of the arrest is captured by a bus passenger, showing the currently unnamed suspect being led away
Alice Baland, who lives four houses down from Crusius's family, said a retired couple lives at the home associated with the suspect. She described them as sweet people who regularly attend church (Crusius pictured right, his dad, left)
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