The deadliest attack on Latinos in modern American history, killing 23 at an El Paso Walmart and investigated as domestic terrorism and a hate crime.
Key Facts
- Date
- August 3, 2019
- Total shot
- 45 people
- Killed
- 23 people
- Injured
- 22 people
- Perpetrator
- Patrick Crusius, age 21
- Sentence
- 90 consecutive life sentences (federal)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Patrick Crusius, motivated by white nationalist ideology and the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, posted a manifesto on 8chan citing the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings as inspiration. His manifesto expressed anti-immigrant and anti-Latino views, and he drove to El Paso targeting a predominantly Latino community.
On August 3, 2019, Crusius opened fire at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, shooting 45 people and killing 23. He surrendered to police and was arrested. The FBI investigated the attack as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime, classifying it as the deadliest attack on Latinos in modern American history.
Crusius was charged with capital murder and, in 2023, pleaded guilty to 90 federal murder and hate crime charges, receiving 90 consecutive life sentences. He also pleaded guilty to state charges in April 2025 and was sentenced to life without parole. The attack intensified national debate over white nationalist terrorism, gun violence, and anti-Latino hate crimes.