'Many killed' in shooting at Walmart in El Paso; suspect in custody

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'Many killed' in shooting at Walmart in El Paso; suspect in custody

By Julio-Cesar Chavez

 

Shoppers exit with their hands up after a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, U.S. August 3, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Salgado

 

EL PASO, Tx. (Reuters) - A gunman killed multiple people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas on Saturday before being arrested after the latest U.S. mass shooting sent panicked shoppers fleeing.

 

Many of those caught up in the rampage were buying back-to-school supplies. El Paso police Sergeant Robert Gomez told reporters authorities had ruled out multiple shooters, and he said initial reports were that the gunman used a rifle.

 

"This is just a tragedy that I'm having a hard time getting my arms around," El Paso Mayor Dee Margo told CNN.

 

Citing a law enforcement source, El Paso television station KTSM published on its website what it said were two photos of the suspect taken by security cameras as he entered the Walmart.

 

The images showed a young white man wearing glasses, khaki trousers and a dark T-shirt, and pointing an assault-style rifle. He appears to be wearing headphones or ear defenders.

 

Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the images.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter that the reports from El Paso were "very bad, many killed."

 

"Spoke to Governor to pledge total support of Federal Government," he wrote. "God be with you all!"

 

U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from El Paso, told CNN the number of victims was "shocking."

 

University Medical Center of El Paso received 13 patients, including one who died, hospital spokesman Ryan Mielke told CNN.

 

Some of the patients were in surgery while others were in stable condition, he added.

 

Two of the patients who arrived at the hospital were children with non-life threatening injuries who were transferred to El Paso Children's Hospital, he said.

 

El Paso police made an urgent appeal for blood donations, saying there were multiple injured at various hospitals.

 

'TRAGIC EVENTS'

 

The El Paso Police Department said the scene remained active around the Cielo Vista Mall, near the Walmart, but there was no imminent threat to the public.

 

Another El Paso police spokesman, Enrique Carrillo, said there were more than 20 casualties, a number that could include fatalities and people wounded.

 

Shoppers fled for their lives, including Kianna Long who was at the Walmart with her husband when they heard gunfire.

"People were panicking and running, saying that there was a shooter," Long said. "They were running close to the floor, people were dropping on the floor."

 

Long and her husband sprinted through a stock room at the back of the store before sheltering with other customers in a steel container in a shipping area.

 

Graphic video from the scene posted on social media showed what appeared to be dead bodies and wounded victims.

 

Police asked people who cannot reach loved ones to go to a family reunification centre at a local middle school, instead of heading to the shopping centre.

 

Walmart said in a statement: "We're in shock over the tragic events at Cielo Vista Mall... We're praying for the victims, the community & our associates, as well as the first responders."

 

Multiple law enforcement agencies raced to the scene, including police, state troopers, Homeland Security agents and border patrol.

 

One witness said he saw at least one person inside the store with a fatal head wound, and he saw shoppers in bloodied clothes.

 

Other stores at the nearby mall were also locked down as police officers cleared the shopping centre in the east of the city, which lies on the southern U.S. border with Mexico.

 

Video posted on Twitter showed customers at one department store being evacuated with their hands up.

"Hands in the air!" an officer can be heard shouting in the footage.

 

Mass shootings are common in the United States. On Sunday, a teenage gunman opened fire with an assault-style rifle on the crowd at a food festival in Northern California, killing three people before fatally shooting himself.

 

At a Democratic presidential candidate forum in Las Vegas a clearly emotional Beto O'Rourke, a former Texas congressman who is from El Paso, broke the news to the audience that he had just heard about the deadly mass shooting in his home city.

 

O'Rourke said he had spoken to his wife Amy, who was driving in the city with one of their children. Addressing reporters, he teared up and struggled to deliver a short statement.

 

"I am incredibly saddened and it's very hard to think about this," he said. "El Paso is the strongest place in the world. This community is going to come together. I'm going back there right now to be with my family, to be with my home town."

 

(Reporting by Julio-Cesar Chavez in El Paso; Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles and Tim Reid in Las Vegas; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Susan Thomas)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-04

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[lannarebirth]

Another incel, gun nut, hater of women and non whites. IOW "the base".  <deleted> tragic.

[sirineou]

 We need to act, there is more and more of this happening every week, 

Very very sad. This is crazy!!!

This  happened in Texas where a large percentage carry, and it did not stop this.

More guns is not the answer. People don't need military style rifles to hunt.

How many lives must be lost before we act???

[geoffbezoz]

Well can't wait for Trump's reply again on this, yet another American massacre.  Rather than liquidating the NRA and ban shooting for pleasure, no doubt he will say, along with the NRA, all store check-out operatives should be armed with automatic weapons to deter other attacks.  Definitely there are some sickos over there who think gun ownership produce a safe society.    RIP to all those poor innocent people whose lives just ended through this act of madness.

[riclag]

4 minutes ago, sirineou said:

 We need to act, there is more and more of this happening every week, 

Very very sad. This is crazy!!!

This  happened in Texas where a large percentage carry, and it did not stop this.

More guns is not the answer. People don't need military style rifles to hunt.

How many lives must be lost before we act???

Act! How! Mental competency screening for every citizen who has a  license! Should Americans walk into the police station upon demand and hand over their weapons! Maybe stop making and selling ak's!  Than there is the question of other weapons! What was this guys motive! That has to be determined first,act on that!

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, riclag said:

Act! How! Mental competency screening for every citizen who has a  license! Should Americans walk into the police station upon demand and hand over their weapons! Maybe stop making and selling ak's!  Than there is the question of other weapons! What was this guys motive! That has to be determined first,act on that!

You are right, Do nothing .

How is that working?

Perhaps your avatar could think of something , obviously you can't.

[riclag]

3 minutes ago, Tug said:

Ok Donald thease mass shootings at schools churches malls concerts are a national emergency ACT ya coward you will go after immigrants but won’t use your power to help stop this kick the bum out!!

When you  blame the POTUS ,you blame them all. They all have blood on their hands

[Tug]

3 minutes ago, riclag said:

Act! How! Mental competency screening for every citizen who has a  license! Should Americans walk into the police station upon demand and hand over their weapons! Maybe stop making and selling ak's!  Than there is the question of other weapons! What was this guys motive! That has to be determined first,act on that!

It’s coming out he is an anti immigrant white nationalist the cops need to be given the tools to take guns away from the nut jobs

[riclag]

2 minutes ago, sirineou said:

You are right, Do nothing .

How is that working?

Perhaps your avatar could think of something , obviously you can't.

I didn't say do nothing

[riclag]

1 minute ago, Tug said:

It’s coming out he is an anti immigrant white nationalist the cops need to be given the tools to take guns away from the nut jobs

The nut jobs,I agree

[sirineou]

Just now, riclag said:

When you  blame the POTUS ,you blame them all. They all have blood on their hands

No we blame this one. He is the one who said that if everyone was armed this things would not happen, he even wanted to arm teachers!

 Texas have some of the largest gun ownership in the US, many people carry.

How is that working?

[lannarebirth]

1 minute ago, riclag said:

When you  blame the POTUS ,you blame them all. They all have blood on their hands

One can draw a straight line between Trump's remarks and these hateful occurrences.

[johnmell]

And the response will be light a few candles, hold a vigil, and wait for the next one.

[riclag]

2 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

One can draw a straight line between Trump's remarks and these hateful occurrences.

Sorry I disagree . I don't see him directing people to go out to kill 

[Tug]

2 minutes ago, johnmell said:

And the response will be light a few candles, hold a vigil, and wait for the next one.

Sad but true

[Tug]

1 minute ago, riclag said:

Sorry I disagree . I don't see him directing people to go out to kill 

I’m not going to bite don’t want a suspension suffice to say you can lead a horse to water but can’t make him drink

[sirineou]

 

Republicans have blocked every attempt for reform.

Not only the Potus but McConnell and the rest has blood on their  hands also. 

   

[mikebike]

31 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

all store check-out operatives should be armed with automatic weapons to deter other attacks.

Apparently you have never shopped at Walmart. The last thing in the world that would make me feel safe is those bozos being armed.

[ezzra]

To be honest, everyday that i don't read hear about another shooting or massacre in US it's surprise me and it's a good day, no one can figure out what makes seeming normal people picking up a gun one day and going out on a murderous rampage...

[sunnyboy2018]

41 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

Well can't wait for Trump's reply again on this, yet another American massacre.  Rather than liquidating the NRA and ban shooting for pleasure, no doubt he will say, along with the NRA, all store check-out operatives should be armed with automatic weapons to deter other attacks.  Definitely there are some sickos over there who think gun ownership produce a safe society.    RIP to all those poor innocent people whose lives just ended through this act of madness.

Obama and Clinton did nothing. Dont blame this on trump

[metisdead]

A post containing insulting comments directed to another member has been removed. 

 

A post containing off topic generalizations about Pattaya has been removed. 

[sunnyboy2018]

5 minutes ago, ezzra said:

To be honest, everyday that i don't read hear about another shooting or massacre in US it's surprise me and it's a good day, no one can figure out what makes seeming normal people picking up a gun one day and going out on a murderous rampage...

Acesss to guns might give you a hint.

[sirineou]

15+ dead. many of them children, Many more injured, I pray it does not but I am afraid the number of dead will rise. The Governor of Texas on TV now, is talking about prayers. 

The chief of police just said 20 confirmed fatalities

Edited August 3, 2019 by sirineou

[sunnyboy2018]

17 minutes ago, sirineou said:

 

Republicans have blocked every attempt for reform.

Not only the Potus but McConnell and the rest has blood on their  hands also. 

   

And what did the Democrats do: nothing. Because their divisive,  extreme left wing politics scared ordinary people. Obama frightened enough people to ebable trump to gain power. 

[sunnyboy2018]

22 minutes ago, sirineou said:

 

Republicans have blocked every attempt for reform.

Not only the Potus but McConnell and the rest has blood on their  hands also. 

   

I never saw Obama or HRC give a speech without being surrounded by gun thugs.  They did nothing to prevent mass murder.

[sirineou]

5 minutes ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

And what did the Democrats do: nothing. Because their divisive,  extreme left wing politics scared ordinary people. Obama frightened enough people to ebable trump to gain power. 

If you don't know what the left has attempted to do only to be blocked by the republicans, Nothing I can say will help you.

 We had this conversation many times with your side

Keep drinking the kool aid. This country must move forward without you .

Edited August 3, 2019 by sirineou

[mikebike]

1 minute ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

I never saw Obama or HRC give a speech without being surrounded by gun thugs.  They did nothing to prevent mass murder.

I'd like to hear more about these "gun thugs"... are you perhaps referring to "security"?

 

Did they do anything to incite mass murder?

[sunnyboy2018]

31 minutes ago, riclag said:

Sorry I disagree . I don't see him directing people to go out to kill 

The same kind of mass murder happened under the governance of many presidents and both political parties. This is not a Trump issue.

[lannarebirth]

5 minutes ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

I never saw Obama or HRC give a speech without being surrounded by gun thugs.  They did nothing to prevent mass murder.

What they didn't do was incite it amongst their most weak brained and delusional followers.

[sunnyboy2018]

3 minutes ago, sirineou said:

If you don't know what the left has attempted to do only to be blocked by the republicans, Nothing I can say will help you.

 We had this conversation many times with your side

Keep drinking the kool aid. This country must move forward without you .

Convince the people that you are right not left....As for we kool aid drinkers ..Obama put us in prison too with his facist anti black drug laws. The Democrats are not saints but have a history of corruption and racism.  I was in Chi in 68. You think people who oppose you are all right wing, crop headed red necks.  We are not. Libertarians and contrarians yes. The left/communist attempts to disarm the people have failed.  Its up to you to win the argument in democratic nation.  But ultimately you do no believe in democracy.