The man accused of gunning down 22 people at an El Paso Walmart last week confessed to the grisly crime and admitted he was targeting people of Mexican descent, according to unsealed court documents on Friday.
“I’m the shooter,” suspect Patrick Crusius told officers who pulled him over, according to the arrest warrant written by El Paso police Det. Adrian Garcia obtained by the Associated Press.
Crusius emerged out of his car and raised his hands, the warrant said.
Later, Crusius waived his Miranda Rights against self-incrimination and spoke with detectives, telling them he was targeting Mexicans during his attack.
Just before Saturday’s attack, a hate-filled racist screed, linked to Crusius, was posted on extremist online forum 8chan. The rant decried the “invasion” of Mexican immigrants to the United States and hailed the Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque shooter, an anti-immigrant white supremacist who left 51 dead in March.
The writer said he was angry about Mexican immigration long before the election of President Donald Trump, who based much of his 2016 campaign on building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
El Paso police originally said 20 people were killed on Saturday but then two more died from their wounds in coming days. About two dozen others were injured in the attack.
The El Paso shooting preceded another mass shooting the following day in Dayton, Ohio, where nine people were killed in a popular downtown entertainment district.
Associated Press contributed.
