Patrick Crusius, gunman who fatally shot 23 shoppers in El Paso Walmart, to pay more than $5M to victims’ families
AUSTIN, Texas — A white Texas gunman who killed 23 people at a Walmart in 2019 after ranting about Hispanics taking over the government and economy has agreed to pay more than $5 millio𒅌n to victims of the racist attack, according to an order signed by a judge Monday.
Patrick Crusius was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms in July after pleading guilty to federal hate crime charges following one of the nation’s worst mass killings.
Court records show his attorneys and ꦆthe Justice Department reached an agreement over the restitution amount, which was appﷺroved by US District Judge David Guaderrama.
There is no indication that Crusius, 25, has significant assets. He was 21 years old and had dropped out of community college when police say he drove more than 700 miles from his home near Dallas to target Hispanics with an AK-style rifle inside and outside the store.
Moments before the attack began, Crusius posted a racist screed o꧅nline that warned of a Hispanic “invasion” of Texas.
He once worked at a 𝓰movie theater, a job that his attorneys have said Crusius was forced to leave because he was having violent thoughts.
Crusius plead🐠ed guilty in February after federal prosecutors took the death penalty off the table.
But Texas prosecutors have said they will try to put Crusius on death row whღen he stands trial in state court. That trial date has not yet been set.
Under the agreement between the gunman and the government, Crusius will pay $5,557🌳,005.55, according to court filings.
Joe Spencer, an attorney for Cru✃sius, and a spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately return messages Monday.
In January, the Justice Department proposed changes to how it runs federal prisoners’ deposit accounts in 𓄧an effort to ensure victims are paid restitution, including from some high-profile inmates with large balances.
The move came as the Justice Department faced increased scrutiny after revelations that several high-profile inmates kept large sums of money in their prison accounts but only made minim🌺al payments to their victims.
The 2019 attack was the deadliest of a dozen mass shootings in the US linked to hate crimes since 2006, according to a database c𝄹ompiled by the Associated Press, USA To𒁏day and Northeastern University.
Before the shooting, Crusius had appeared consumed by the nation’s immigration debate, tweeting #BuildtheWall and other social media posts that praised then-President Donald Trump’s hardline border policies. Crusius went further in his rant posted befor💦e the attack, sounding warnings that Hispanics were going to take over the g⭕overnment and economy.