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"Twenty people were killed and more than two dozen were injured in a mass shooting at an El Paso shopping center on Saturday, according to Texas and local authorities.
"Lives were taken who should still be with us today," Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference near the Walmart and an adjacent shopping mall.
Twenty-six people were injured, according to El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen.
"The ages and genders of all these people injured and killed are numerous in the age groups," Allen said. "The situation, needless to say, is a horrific one."
A 21-year-old white man from Allen, a suburb of Dallas more than 650 miles away, is in police custody, Allen said. Authorities are looking at potentially bringing capital murder charges against him.
The case also has a "nexus to a potential hate crime," he said.
"Right now, we have a manifesto from this individual that indicates to some degree a nexus to a potential hate crime," Allen said.
FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie said more investigative work was needed before determining whether there was a possible hate crime.
A source familiar with the investigative process said later Saturday that the FBI has opened a domestic terrorism investigation into the massacre. It will coincide with the state inquiry and Texas authorities will take the lead in the case.
The dead included three Mexican nationals, according to a tweet from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Six Mexicans were injured, Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard wrote on Twitter.
CNN reported the suspect is 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of Allen, according to three sources.
Two federal law enforcement sources and one state government source confirmed the suspect's identity. The federal sources said investigators are reviewing an online writing posted days before the shooting that may speak to a motive.
The online posting was believed to be written by Crusius, the sources said, but that has not been confirmed.
'This was a massacre'
The first call of an active shooter went out at 10:39 a.m. local time, Allen said. The first officer arrived on scene six minutes later.
El Paso Police Sgt. Robert Gomez previously told reporters police were initially given multiple possible locations for the shooting, at the Walmart and the Cielo Vista Mall next door.
"This is a large crime scene, a large area," Gomez said of the scene.
Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including the FBI, the sheriff's department, the state Department of Public Safety and Border Patrol.
The crime scene will "be in play for a long period," Allen said. "Unfortunately, the deceased will remain at the scene until the scene is processed properly for evidentiary purposes to be gathered for later prosecution."
Officials from two local hospitals said they had received at least 23 people.
Thirteen people were taken to University Medical Center of El Paso, spokesman Ryan Mielke told CNN, and one of them has died. Two children with non-life-threatening injuries were transferred to a children's medical facility, Mielke said.
Eleven victims were transported to the Del Sol Medical Center, hospital spokesman Victor Guerrero said. Nine are in critical but stable condition, he said.
At least two of the patients are in a "life-threatening predicament," according to Del Sol Medical Center Dr. Stephen Flaherty. He said the patients ranged in age from 25 to 82. Two are in stable condition, he said, and seven required emergency operations.
"This was a massacre," US Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents the area, told CNN. Escobar has received conflicting reports on the numbers of casualties, she said, but added, "The numbers are shocking.""
Source (this has more details of the incident) -
20 people killed in El Paso shooting, Texas governor says
Twenty people were killed and more than two dozen were injured in a mass shooting at an El Paso shopping center on Saturday, according to Texas and local authorities.
There are also several hashtags trending worldwide on Twitter right now.
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