Within a day of the 2019 mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart, it was clear that the gunman — who had driven hours to perpetrate an attack that killed 23 people and wounded 22 others — had been motivated by anti-immigrant hate. Law enforcement were already saying that it appeared to be an act of domestic terror; a racist manifesto had been linked to the shooter. It’s considered the largest massacre of Latino people in the history of the United States, and it came amid Donald Trump’s first war on immigration, his first term in the White House. So it was readily apparent that hateful, anti-immigrant rhetoric played a role in the attack.
It would take nearly six years, though, to solidify that Trump’s politics had anything to do with it. On Sunday, in a report by El Paso Matters, the shooter’s defense lawyer said his client believed he was acting at the direction of Trump at the time of the attack. “He thought he had to stop the invasion because that’s what his president was telling him, which is just not rational,” attorney Joe Spencer told the publication. Spencer also said that the shooter was motivated to act after watching a video of a Trump rally in which the president smiled following a comment from an audience member who suggested shooting people at the border.
That interview came after El Paso District Attorney James Montoya announced that Texas prosecutors would no longer seek the death penalty for the shooter, and that his office had offered the shooter a plea bargain. The shooter was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences in federal court, but the state case had particular resonance: Since 2019, it has gone through the hands of four different prosecutors, one of whom resigned from office over accusations of misconduct and incompetence related to the shooting. Montoya’s predecessor had promised to seek the death penalty after federal prosecutors decided not to, and Montoya had campaigned on pursuing capital punishment as well. Montoya said the decision to offer a plea would prevent the case from dragging on further.
It marks the beginning of the end of the drawn-out case. But closure for those targeted in the attack remains far from sight. As of last August, the five-year marker since the attack, at least 50 Mexican survivors — some traumatized or physically injured — who had cooperated with law enforcement after the massacre were still waiting on special U visas, which allow immigrant victims of crime to live and work lawfully in the United States. Their petitions had been stuck in a backlog, and it’s unlikely, in Trump’s second term, that the backlog will ease anytime soon. His administration’s anti-immigrant stance has become particularly chilling. M. Gessen, a Russian-born New York Times columnist, calls the forced removal of foreign students and other immigrants the beginning of America’s police state.
A few days after the Walmart massacre, third-generation El Pasoan David Dorado Romo wrote that his hometown “has been described as one of the largest small towns in the United States. Here, everyone seems to be connected by only one or two degrees of separation, and a tragedy such as this one is very personal.”
Romo, who lost a friend in the shooting, also noted that attacks like the one on the Walmart — motivated by racist myths like “cultural and ethnic replacement” and “Hispanic invasion” — follow a long history of violence in border cities like his. What was new then was “the staggering acceleration of events currently aimed at fronterizo communities.” The challenge, then, was to “not only understand the past, but what the past can teach us about how to alter a potentially deadly future.”
From The Trace
What Generation Is Most Affected by Gun Violence?: Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that one age group is bearing a disproportionate share of our national gun violence crisis.
CDC Teams That Study Gun Violence and Collect Data Are Decimated by Layoffs: The Trump’s administration’s cuts come after the field of gun violence research saw renewed federal support during the Biden era.
They Served Their Time. Now They Want to Be Released From Illinois’ ‘Murderer’ Database: An effort to shutter a violent offender registry raises questions about how Illinois should treat people who’ve completed prison sentences for gun violence.
Maternal Homicide Is Very Common — Particularly in These States: Experts say these deaths are largely preventable. A new study looks into the connections between policy and outcome.
El Paso Mass Shooter Believed He Was Fulfilling Trump’s Wishes, His Attorney Says: Via El Paso Matters: The man who killed 23 people at a Walmart in 2019 told his lawyer that he was motivated by the president’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.
What We’re Reading
The Austin-Area Teen Trump Disappeared to El Salvador: An ICE agent told 18-year-old Carlos Daniel Terán’s mother that they had video footage of her son with drugs and guns. The agent didn’t show her a warrant. [Texas Monthly]
“A Wholly Inaccurate Picture”: Reality Cop Show “The First 48” and the Wrongly Convicted Man: Edgar Barrientos-Quintana was convicted of shooting and killing 18-year-old Jesse Mickelson. The case against him was built, in part, on the narrative of an episode of “The First 48.” Sixteen years later, that tidy narrative unraveled. [ProPublica]
The Proud Boys and Militias Come to Tesla’s Defense: After weeks of “Tesla Takedown” protests, extremist groups are showing up to back Elon Musk’s beleaguered car company. [Wired]
Highland Park mass shooting victims can sue gunmaker Smith & Wesson: A judge ruled that victims of a 2022 mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade near Chicago can sue Smith & Wesson and two gun dealers. [Chicago Sun-Times]
SCOTUS kicks felon firearm case to 11th Circuit: The Supreme Court ordered the 11th Circuit to determine if the federal ban on gun possession for people with felony convictions should include those convicted of nonviolent crimes. [Courthouse News Service]
WA families are using ‘Joel’s Law’ for involuntary commitments more than ever. Is it working?: Doug and Nancy Reuter said they tried 48 times to get their son, Joel, who had bipolar disorder, help before he was shot and killed in a confrontation with police in 2013. They were among a group of parents who pushed for a law to make it easier to petition for involuntary commitment. [InvestigateWest]
Long-sought domestic violence bill heads to governor’s desk: Mississippi lawmakers negotiated and passed legislation to create a statewide board to study domestic violence deaths — most of which involve a gun — during the final, seemingly chaotic days of the 2025 session. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk. [Mississippi Today]
In Memoriam
James Williams, 80, spent his days sitting on the front porch of his Baton Rouge, Louisiana, home, where neighbors and friends would stop by to talk, eat, or have a cold one after a long day. Perhaps better known as “Uncle Pig,” Williams was shot and killed this week on that same porch where he passed so much time. Williams nurtured his home as a welcoming communal space; beyond the chats on his front porch, he’d oversee gatherings below the large live oak that cast shade beyond his front porch. His place was known in the community as “Under the tree on Avenue E.” Williams was a good listener, and he cared about the people around him. “This street is not gonna be the same without him,” a neighbor told The Advocate. “He was like everybody’s papa, everybody’s dad.”
Spotlight on Solutions
Students in Oakland, California, are taking a frank look at gun violence in their community — and trying to do something about it, The Oaklandside reports. Last month, middle schoolers at Lighthouse Community Public Schools presented research, essays, and artwork about gun violence and mental health in an exhibit with a local violence prevention organization. Many of the students have been touched by the crisis themselves; the exhibit also included a memorial to a slain classmate. The students said they hoped their work would raise awareness about the issue and highlight solutions.
Pull Quote
“When you dehumanize the target, what you do is you exclude them from consideration. They do not deserve your moral care. And then, you harm them as existential threats.”
— Christine Reyna, a psychology professor at DePaul University in Chicago who researches white nationalist extremism, on how increasing and normalizing anti-immigrant rhetoric that seemed extreme when used by the El Paso Walmart shooter before the attack increases the risk of further violence on immigrant and Hispanic communities, to El Paso Matters
