Gunman who killed 23 in a racist attack at a Walmart in El Paso pleads guilty to capital murder

The gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack at a Walmart in El Paso — one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history — pleaded guilty Monday to capital murder in a state district court.

Patrick Crusius was automatically be sentenced to life in prison without parole in the massacre near the U.S.-Mexico border. The change of plea comes after local prosecutors took the death penalty off the table.

Crusius has acknowledged he targeted Hispanics on Aug. 3, 2019, when he opened fire in a Walmart in the Texas border city that was crowded with weekend shoppers from the U.S. and Mexico.

El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya declined to pursue the death penalty, saying that decision was driven by a majority of victims’ relatives who want the case to be over.

Joe Spencer, a defense attorney in the state and federal cases, said the plea agreement brings “judicial finality” to the case and avoids a prolonged proceeding.

Read more: AP