US federal authorities treat El Paso mass shooting as domestic terrorism

AKIPRESS.COM - US federal authorities are treating the El Paso mass shooting as a case of domestic terrorism, CNN reports citing the US Attorney for the Western District of Texas.
The Justice Department is also "seriously considering" bringing federal hate crime and federal firearm charges, which carry a possible death penalty, US Attorney John Bash said in a news conference.
The case appears to meet the statutory definition of domestic terrorism, Bash said. Saturday's shooting at an El Paso Walmart -- which left at least 20 people dead and 26 injured -- "appears to be designed to intimidate a civilian population, to say the least," he said.
"We're going to do what we do to terrorists in this country, which is to deliver swift and certain justice," Bash said.
The suspect was charged Sunday with capital murder and was being held on no bond, El Paso Police Sgt. Robert Gomez told reporters Sunday evening. The suspect has been cooperating with investigators, he said.
The suspect was arraigned overnight Saturday, Gomez said.
Authorities are investigating a racist, anti-immigrant document they believe was posted by a man who opened fire Saturday morning, shortly after 10:30 a.m. local time.
Authorities have not publicly identified the shooter, but three sources told CNN the suspect is 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of Allen, Texas. The sources were two federal officials and one state official.
Crusius was arrested in the Walmart parking lot, a law enforcement official told CNN. He was in a vehicle in the parking lot and saw responding marked law enforcement units. The suspect then got out of his vehicle unarmed and walked over to law enforcement vehicles where he was arrested without incident, the official said.