El Paso shooting latest: ‘Random incident’ between two groups of men led to Cielo Vista Mall shooting

Olivia Troye was Homeland Security and Counter-Terrorism Advisor to former Vice President Mike Pence before resigning in August 2020.

One man was killed and three injured in a shooting at a mall in El Paso, south Texas, on Wednesday night. A massacre had taken place not far from the shopping center just three years earlier.

Two men were arrested after shots were fired at Cielo Vista Mall, police said.

“It was chaotic. people have fled. They were scared,” said Police Sgt. Robert Gomez according to CNN.

The identities of those involved in the shooting — including the victims and suspects — have not been released publicly.

However, interim El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas said Thursday that everyone involved ranged in age from their late teens to early 20s.

The two suspects remain in custody.

The latest shooting in El Paso comes as the community is still in the midst of processing, trying to recover from the trauma of the 2019 mass shooting, which was one of the deadliest hate crimes in recent U.S. history.

The perpetrator of that crime, Patrick Wood Crusius, pleaded guilty to 90 federal counts of murder and hate crimes on Feb. 8 — just a week before this mass shooting at a location just a half-mile away.

Crusius legally purchased the semi-automatic firearm and ammunition he used in the 2019 shooting; Since then, Texas has continued to relax its gun laws, although frequent mass shootings continue to occur there and states across the country.

The shooting, which unfolded this week at a mall in El Paso, Texas, was the result of a “random incident” between two groups of men, according to investigators.

Gunfire erupted in the Cielo Vista Mall food court around 5 p.m. Wednesday, killing one man and injuring three other men. Two suspects – both male – were quickly arrested.

In a news conference Thursday afternoon, El Paso interim police chief Peter Pacillas said the shooting had nothing to do with a gang and instead came about when two groups got into a “confrontation” and “physical altercation” in the food court.

“This is a chance encounter between two groups. I want to emphasize this. This is a random incident between two groups at the mall,” he said.

During the altercation, a man pulled out a hangun and shots were fired.

“During that fight, Group B, one person pulled out a pistol and shots were fired,” he said.

“As a result of the shooting, one member of Group A was mortally wounded and died at the scene.

“Two people in Group B were wounded and are in stable condition at local hospitals.”

Congresswoman Veronica Escobar has attacked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott after a gunman opened fire at an El Paso mall, killing one person and wounding three others.

“How about gun violence prevention legislation for the safety of our community,” she said in a response to Mr Abbott’s tweet on the incident.

“You promised you would act after the Aug. 3 shooting and you did nothing but relax gun laws.

“The legislature is in session. Just keep your word and do something!”

The Cielo Vista Mall shooting comes exactly a week after the shooter who killed 23 people in the Walmart shooting changed his plea to guilty.

On August 3, 2019, Patrick Crusius, now 24, entered Walmart over a busy weekend and opened fire.

He killed 23 people, including Mexican citizens, and wounded two dozen others in one of the worst mass shootings in American history.

Prosecutors say he deliberately targeted the store in the Hispanic community due to his extremist, racist beliefs.

Before the massacre, he had posted a racist document online in which he claimed the shooting was “in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

Last Wednesday, Crusius pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and gun charges.

Texas has some of the loosest gun laws in the US – and a high profile of horrific mass shootings.

The loose laws come as state legislatures have long had a close relationship with the NRA.

In the past five years, the NRA has spent more than $2 million lobbying Texas state legislators — more than double its spending in Florida, which receives the second-highest sum of money according to the data Open Secrets disclosed.

Campaign contributions were significantly lower, as the group’s PAC passed around $60,000 to gun-friendly Republicans in the state.

Among those, Greg Abbott tops the list with $5,000 in campaign funds.

Data compiled by Giffords shows Mr. Abbott has $20,700 in career gun lobbying contributions – one of the highest of any gubernatorial candidate.

And during his tenure, Texas has continued to relax its already lax gun laws.

Less than a year before Uvalde, in June 2021, Mr. Abbott signed legislation allowing unlicensed Texans to open handguns.

Standing with him as the bill was signed were NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and NRA President Carolyn Meadows.

Mr LaPierre – who has been accused of using the group as his “personal piggy bank” – even spoke at the signing.

“In this increasingly dangerous world, people want to be able to protect themselves and thank God Texas is leading the way for the country,” he said.

Mr. Abbott has the highest possible rating of A+ from the NRA’s Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) and the Weapons PAC supports him for the role of Governor.

On the website supporting Mr. Abbott, the NRA celebrates the fact that Mr. Abbott, in his role, signed more than two dozen pro-gun laws and “has staunchly defended the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Texans.”

Olivia Troye was Homeland Security and Counter-Terrorism Advisor to former Vice President Mike Pence before resigning in August 2020.

One man was killed and three injured in a shooting at a mall in El Paso, south Texas, on Wednesday night. A massacre had taken place not far from the shopping center just three years earlier.

Two men were arrested after shots were fired at Cielo Vista Mall, police said.

“It was chaotic. people have fled. They were scared,” said Police Sgt. Robert Gomez according to CNN.

During Mr. Abbott’s eight-year tenure as governor, Texas was rocked by at least six other major mass shootings, according to a Texas Grandstand Database.

In November 2017, 26 people were killed and another 20 injured when a 26-year-old gunman opened fire during Sunday services at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.

Just six months later, in May 2018, a 17-year-old student killed eight classmates and two students at Santa Fe High School.

A year later, in August 2019, the racist attack took place at the El Paso Walmart.

Last year, on May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old armed with a legally purchased AR-15 entered Robb Primary School in Uvalde and murdered 19 young children and two teachers.

Mr Abbott has come under fire for his response to the Uvalde massacre, as he has turned down pleas from grieving families, the Uvalde community and state legislatures to call a legislative session to even discuss the possibility of changing the state’s laws change for weak weapons.

Since taking office, the Republican has relaxed gun laws in the state.

Less than a year before Uvalde, in June 2021, he signed legislation allowing unlicensed Texans to openly carry handguns.