Family members of the 23 people killed in a racist attack at a Texas Walmart are confronting the gunman face-to-face in court for the first time since the 2019 massacre
EL A brother who traveled more than 1,000 miles to confront his sister’s killer. An uncle of an orphaned 4-year-old whose parents died while shielding the boy from the spray of bullets. A wife whose husband was gunned down at her side while their 9-year-old granddaughter looked on.
Nearly four years after a white gunman killed 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso in a racist attack that targeted Hispanic shoppers, relatives of the victims are packing a courtroom near the U.S.-Mexico border this week to see Patrick Crusius punished for one of the nation’s worst mass shootings.
The sentencing phase, which began Wednesday and continues Thursday, is the first time families have had the opportunity to address Crusius face-to-face since the Aug. 3, 2019, shooting.
Crusius, 24, is expected to receive multiple life sentences in federal prison after pleading guilty to 90 murder, weapons and hate crime counts in February. He could also still receive the death penalty under separate charges in state court.
In their own words, here is what the sentencing means to some of the relatives:
FORGIVENESS AND FAILURE
Family members credit Jordan Anchondo and Andre Anchondo with shielding their 2-month-old child Paul in the store during the attack, in which they were both killed.
Tito Anchondo, Andre’s brother, said he will forgive Crusius but also wants to explain to him why what he did was a failure.
Less than a half-hour before the attack, Crusius posted an online rant against a supposed “invasion” of Texas by Hispanics and warned they would take over the government and economy.
