El Paso shooting: ‘Random incident’ between two groups of men led to Cielo Vista Mall shooting
Shooting took place in mall adjacent to Walmart where 23 were killed in 2019 massacre
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The shooting which unfolded in a mall in El Paso, Texas, this week was the result of a “random incident” between two groups of men, according to investigators.
Gunfire erupted at around 5pm on Wednesday in the food court of the Cielo Vista Mall, leaving one man killed and another three men wounded. Two suspects – both male – were quickly arrested.
In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, El Paso interim Police Chief Peter Pacillas said that the shooting was not gang related but came about when two groups got into a “confrontation” and “physical altercation” in the food court.
“This is a random incident encounter between two groups. I want to emphasise this. This is a random incident that occurred between two groups at the mall,” he said.
During the altercation, one man pulled out a hangun and shots were fired.
The shooting has brought back “bad memories” for the El Paso community, with Cielo Vista Mall being located directly adjacent to the Walmart store where 23 people were killed in a racially-motivated mass shooting back in August 2019.
Twitter users admonish Republicans and gun lobby after El Paso shooting
Twitter users blasted Republicans and the gun lobby after the mass shooting in El Paso.
“Another mass shooting in El Paso. NO, this isn’t a headline from the 2019 El Paso mass shooting in which 23 were killed. This is a headline from TODAY. Republicans did this. They are the authors of this daily carnage. CALL THEM OUT. My generation needs to vote these f***ers out!” Lindy Li wrote. “My fellow millennials and Gen Zers, Republicans failed us. One of the two major parties in our country is a loud and proud domestic terrorist org. The time for patience and politeness is OVER.”
“So pissed and devastated about all these senseless killings,” she said.
The account Trending Liberal said, “I know it’s my job to tweet about the Cielo Mall Shooting in El Paso. Just after the Michigan State shooting. And after over 50 more shootings in January. But f*** it. I’m done. You know it’s the NRA. You know it’s Republicans blocking sane gun reform. WTF more is there to say?”
Jeff Tiedrich added: “#BREAKING: Well-Regulated Militia Opens Fire In Cielo Vista Mall In El Paso, Texas; Cheap Thoughts And Useless Prayers Now Being Rushed To The Scene ... more on this soon-to-be-forgotten-and-then-repeated story as it develops.”
George Hahn wrote simply that “the problem is guns”.
VIDEO: 1 dead, 3 injured in El Paso mall shooting
Shooting ‘brought back bad memories’ from 2019 for mall staff
In the 2019 shooting, 23 people were killed and an additional 23 were injured in what was described as a far-right attack on Latinos. It took place at the Walmart next to the mall. The 24-year-old shooter pled guilty to 90 federal charges last week in a plea deal.
Two of those who were wounded in Wednesday’s shooting were taken to the University Medical Center of El Paso in critical condition, according to CNN.
Robert Gonzalez was at the mall on Wednesday as well as during the 2019 shooting. He told CNN he spotted people “running to the exit” and that he was working at the mall “the last time this happened with the Walmart shooting so it just brought back bad memories”.
PHOTOS: Emergency services arrive at scene of El Paso shooting
‘It is definitely going to be more difficult to be going in to work'
Marie Hall told KFOX that she had just arrived for work at the mall’s food court when she heard gunfire, prompting her to hide in a walk-in fridge with another member of staff at the salad shop and two customers.
“Nothing prepares you for that,” she said.
She added that she “didn’t really feel safe” going to work “in the beginning because of the shooting in 2019. … It is definitely going to be more difficult to be going in to work”.
‘We felt the same feelings come back to us as the day of the Walmart shooting'
Albert Hernandez lost his sister and brother-in-law in the 2019 El Paso shooting, telling KFOX that he thinks politicians are “not accepting the full scope of the situation” regarding gun violence and that they’re “numb to what’s going on”.
“We felt the same feelings come back to us as the day of the Walmart shooting. Everything comes back and we’re just wondering, now what? How many people are going to get hurt?” he said.
‘It just brought back bad memories'
Robert Gonzalez told CNN that Wednesday’s shooting at the Cielo Vista Mall brought back “bad memories” of the Walmart mass shooting.
“I was working [at the mall] the last time this happened with the Walmart shooting so it just brought back bad memories,” said Mr Gonzalez.
He said that he “saw people running to the exit” of the mall on Wednesday and he fled to his car.
Mall worker shelters in same store as three years ago
Mall worker Brandon Chavez, 29, told CNN that he has now lived through the two mass shootings within a half-mile radius.
He was working in the Buckle clothing store located across from the food court when Wednesday’s shooting unfolded, he said.
Mr Chavez said that employees and customers banded together to barricade themselves inside the store and then hide in the stock room until it was safe to come out.
It was a stark reminder of 2019 when he said he was also forced to shelter in the store.
2019 attack was one of the worst mass shootings in American history
On 3 August 2019, Patrick Crusius, now 24, drove 10 hours from his home in Dallas to the largely Hispanic community.
There, he entered the Walmart on a busy weekend and opened fire, killing 23 and wounding more than two dozen more in what remains one of the worst mass shootings in American history.
Prosecutors say he intentionally targeted the store in the Hispanic community due to his extremist, racist beliefs.
Before the massacre, he had posted a racist document online claiming the shooting was “in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas”.
Just one week before this latest shooting, Crusius pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and weapons charges.
Three men rushed to hospital after shooting
El Paso Interim Police Chief Peter Pacillas said that officers then arrived at the shopping mall to find one victim – a male – dead at the scene.
Three other male victims were rushed to local hospitals – two at University Medical Center in El Paso and the third at the Del Sol Medical Center.
In an initial press conference, Sgt Gomez said that officers were sweeping the mall for a second gunman.
In a second press conference, police confirmed that the second suspect had also been taken into custody.
However, Chief Pacillas reassured the public that “there is no more danger. I want to repeat that – There is no more danger to the public”.