DOUBLE MASSACRE
El Paso Walmart shooting – 29 dead in two US mass shootings in 12 hours as gunman opens fire in Ohio after Texas bloodbath
AT least 29 people have died in two US mass shootings in just 12 hours.
Twisted gunman Patrick Crusius used an AK47-type weapon to gun down parents and kids in a packed Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday in what cops are now treating as an act of domestic terrorism.
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Dayton mayor Nan Whaley says gunman who killed nine at Ohio bar wore body armour and used a 'high-powered rifle - with 223 calibre high capacity magazines'
The 21-year-old, who posted a horrifying anti-Mexican manifesto just 20 minutes before storming the store, killed 20 people after mowing down those inside aisle-by-aisle.
A further 26 people were injured in what has become the deadliest mass shooting of 2019.
And just 12 hours later, a gunman wearing body armour opened fire in an Ohio bar, killing nine..
The Ohio shooter was formally named as Connor Betts, 24 years old, from Bellbrook.
Police haven't established a motive as they named all nine victims - including his own 22-year-old sister Megan Betts.
Six of the nine victims were African-American and police have said they don't think it was targeted discrimination because of the short timeline of the massacre.
Betts was killed by police in approximately 30 seconds after he opened fire with a .223-caliber rifle on innocent revellers enjoying a Saturday night out at 1am.
Betts' former high school principal Chris Baker told how the Ohio shooter was suspended from school for writing a "hit-list" on a bathroom wall, sparking a lockdown.
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
- Texas suspect Patrick Crusius, 21, allegedly stormed a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, armed with an AK47-type rifle
- At least 20 people were killed while 26 were rushed to hospital - including a four-month-old baby
- In a manifesto, Crusius wrote about a "Hispanic invasion of Texas" and said he would "probably die today"
- US Attorney John Bash said the shooting in El Paso will be treated as a domestic terrorism case
- Crusius has been charged with capital murder
- Just 12 hours later a gunman killed nine 1,500 miles away at a bar in Dayton, Ohio
- Cops confirmed they had killed the shooter at the scene, while Crusius has been detained
- Police in Ohio named the Dayton shooter at Conner Betts and confirmed he killed his own sister, 22-year-old Megan Betts
- Betts reportedly was suspended in high school for writing a "hit list" on a bathroom wall
In Texas, Crusius, a “white supremacist” from Allen, was detained at the scene and is suspected of posting a sick race-hate manifesto online which railed against “race mixing”.
In the manifesto, titled The Inconvenient Truth, he also called on the deportation of immigrants and urged authorities to “send them back”.
He also wrote how he was "inspired" by the Christchurch massacre in New Zealand that left 51 dead in March.
Donald Trump said on Sunday that "hate has no place in our country" after two shootings rocked the country.
Just before 11am local time (6pm BST) he stormed through the front entrance of the capacity-filled supermarket and opened fire on families.
Texas gun laws at a glance
Texas is a "shall-issue" state, meaning that local law enforcement cannot deny an applicant a permit if the applicant passes the basic requirements set out by state law, whcih includes:
- being at least 21 years old
- not having pending criminal charges
Gun permits are issued at the state level by the Department of Public Safety
There is also no permit, background check or firearms registration required when buying a handgun from a private individual
To conceal carry, an individual must have Texas License To Carry
- a four- to six-hour training course
- pass both a written exam and a shooting proficiency demonstration
There is no limit for handgun magazine capacity
There is no mandatory waiting period for handgun purchases
20-MINUTE TEXAS MASSACRE
His bloody 20-minute shooting spree left at least 20 people dead while 26 people were hospitalised - including a four-month-old baby.
Crusius, wearing ear defenders and cargo trousers, later went on to tell investigators he wanted to shoot as many Mexicans as possible, according to ABC News.
Copies of his race-hate document were shared on social media before the massacre.
He is said to have written that he "can't wait any longer" before adding "f*** this is going to be so s***" and that "he'll probably die today".
It is the eighth-deadliest mass shooting in US history - and the deadliest of the 21 attacks in the United States this year.
Governor Greg Abbott called the killing spree in the Texas border city "one of the most deadly days in the history of Texas."
Details of the victims have slowly begun to emerge - including a hero mum who was gunned down as she protected her baby.
Jordan Anchondo, 25, was fatally shot while holding her two-month-old son, her sister said.
Heartbroken Leta Jamrowski, 19, added that her baby nephew suffered broken bones as the mum-of-three fell to the ground.
People thought he was weird - people had caught him picking his nose and eating scabs and stuff like that.
Patrick Crusius' former classmate
She said: "From the baby's injuries, they said that more than likely my sister was trying to shield him.
"So when she got shot she was holding him and she fell on him, so that's why he broke some of his bones.
"So he pretty much lived because she gave her life."
Distraught Ms Jamrowski added that she fears her brother-in-law Andre Anchondo was also among the dead as he has not been in contact.
Family of Arturo Benavides, 60, tragically confirmed to he is one the victims of the El Paso shooting.
Mexican authorities confirmed three of its citizens were killed - although they have not been named.
A further nine have been injured as three have identified as Mario de Alba Montes, 45, Olivia Mariscal Rodriguez, 44, and Erika de Alba Mariscal, 10, was injured in the leg.
Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Sunday Mexico will take legal actions to protect its citizens across the border.
A sobbing Edie Hallberg told reporters she has been desperately searching for her 86-year-old mum Angie Englisbee, who had been shopping inside the store when the shooting started.
She said: “I just want to find my mom. I want to know if she’s dead or alive, or is she still in Walmart. I need to find her.”
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President Trump blames mass shootings on mental illness after dozens killed in El Paso and Dayton
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'IT'S CRAZY
It comes as his former schoolmate branded him a “weird nerdy boy” who “always stuck with his own race”.
Paige Ortiz went to school in Plano, Texas, with the mass shooter and said “people thought he was weird”.
She told The Sun Online: “People thought he was weird - people had caught him picking his nose and eating scabs and stuff like that.
“I just don’t know what he was thinking going into a Walmart and gunning down so many wives, fathers, children, mums and dads.
“I feel like he may have been bullied. Our school was diverse, however everyone usually fitted in somewhere.”
Neighbours from Crusius' last two addresses described him as looking "unkempt".
He lived in a five-bedroom house in Allen with his grandparents - who neighbours described as “very, very sweet people".
One neighbour told The Sun Online: "I know the family a little bit we would get together on the street for Labour day or things like that. They were an older couple.
“The couple are very, very sweet, it seemed like a loving family we would get together at street events - they must be shocked. This is a really nice area - it’s crazy.
“I would see him [the shooter] walking to his car, he was a little unkempt but he was an early 20s kid I thought that was maybe just his ‘thing’.
“There were zero reasons to think he would do something like this.”
Friends and teachers of his are shocked - it’s scary knowing that he was right here on our doorstep
Crusius' neighbours
Another neighbour described how his parents divorced and his mum - a school nurse - remarried and four more children moved into the house - so there was a total of seven kids at the property for a time.
She said: “When we moved here in 2007 and he was just a 9-year-old boy. And he would play and seemed normal.
“I remember he would always be by himself, always alone.
“The last few years he lived here he seemed he was always in the same clothes - he’d walk to school in khakis and a white t shirt every day.
“Even in winter he’d have a white t shirt on and it just seemed like he was always alone - I’d see him walking around on his own.
“He graduated high school here and then they moved out.
"Friends and teachers of his are shocked - it’s scary knowing that he was right here on our doorstep.
“His parents divorced and his mother remarried and four boys moved in so at one point there were seven kids at that house."
Crusius reportedly attended Collin College in McKinney, Texas from fall 2017 through spring 2019.
Dr. Neil Matkin, the district president of the school, issued a statement saying that Collin College was "saddened and horrified by the news."
He said: "Collin College is prepared to cooperate fully with state and federal authorities in their investigation of this senseless tragedy.
"We join the governor and all Texans in expressing our heartfelt concern for the victims of the shooting and their loved ones."
Dayton Ohio victims
Six of the nine victims were African American
Megan Betts, 22
Louis Oglesby, 27
Saeed Saleh, 38
Derrick Fudge, 57
Logan Turner, 30
Nicholas Cummer, 25
Thomas McNichols, 25
Beatrice Warren-Curtis, 36
Monica Brickhouse, 39
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TWO ATTACKS IN 12-HOUR WINDOW
On LinkedIn, Crusius wrote he “wasn’t motivated” and said “working generally sucks” before adding that he is simply going to “go with the wind”.
He also revealed he spends “eight hours every day on the computer” which will help “count towards technology experience”.
Meanwhile, US rock band Blink-182 were “locked down” in an El Paso hotel following the mass shooting.
The group had been due to play a show at the UTEP Don Haskins Arena tonight but the gig has been postponed.
Vocalist Mark Hoppus wrote on Twitter: “We are locked down in our hotel in El Paso.”
The band later announced the gig was postponed in light of the events, writing on Twitter: “Following today's terrible tragedy in El Paso we are postponing our Sunday show in solidarity with the community.”
Parents of Parkland shooting victim Joaquin Oliver were in El Paso when the massacre happened.
Manuel and Patricia Oliver were in the town to paint a mural in solidarity of Mexican migrants.
He told NBC news: "We lost our amazing, beautiful son. We were going to do a mural to empower the migrants, but now we will come back to add more to the mural."
CCTV shows people flee as gunman opens fire outside of a bar in Dayton, Ohio
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MIDWEST MASSACRE
The Ohio shooter is believed to have opened fire near Ned Peppers Bar in the city's Oregon district just after 1am.
The Mayor confirmed that 27 people had been injured, including 16 who were taken to hospital.
She later confirmed 15 of those had been released and one remains in critical condition.
Betts' sister Megan was a student studying environmental science at Wright State University, according to WSU spokesman Seth Bauguess.
MOST READ IN NEWS
Terrified witnesses shared footage showing bar-goers fleeing the scene.
One person wrote on Facebook: “Happened right in front of the patio where I was sitting in front of Neds.
“He tried to go into the bar but did not make it through the door. Someone took the gun from him and he got shot and is dead.
“There are at least eight people dead right by the picnic table where I was on the street.
"A bunch of people taken to the hospital. I don’t know how any... this place is a disaster.”
Dayton shooting - 'Multiple victims' after 'another gunman opens fire' in Ohio hours after El Paso Walmart massacre
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Gunshots can be heard as shopper shelters for safety under a table in El Paso, Texas
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