Ex-Trump admin official says aunt was hiding from El Paso gunman after surviving nearby 2019 massacre

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A former Trump administration official has said that her aunt was hiding from the El Paso gunman after surviving the 2019 massacre in the same area.

Olivia Troye was the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence before resigning in August 2020.

One man was killed and three were injured in the shooting at a mall in El Paso in southern Texas on Wednesday night. A massacre took place not far from the mall just three years earlier.

Two men were detained after shots were fired at Cielo Vista Mall, police said.

“It was chaotic. People did flee. They were scared,” police Sgt Robert Gomez said, according to CNN.

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.

“My aunt is currently in hiding at Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, TX, as this active shooter scenario is still unfolding,” Ms Troye wrote at 8.22pm on Wednesday night. “She survived the 2019 Wal-Mart El Paso shooting thanks to someone who pulled her to safety. What is it going to take to enact change?!”

“My aunt is now safe and out of Cielo Vista Mall,” she added at 9.28pm. “Thank you once again to the amazing stranger who pulled her to safety once again this time around. Heartbroken for my hometown of El Paso, the victims and their families.”

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.

Sgt Gomez added that the third injured individual was also taken to hospital in an unknown condition.

There have been more than 70 mass shootings – a shooting in which four or more people are killed or injured, not including the shooter – this year, according to the gun violence archive.

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”.

Marie Hall told KFOX that she had just arrived for work at the 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”.

Albert Hernandez lost his sister and brother-in-law in the 2019 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.