El Paso, Texas (AP) — One person was killed and three injured in an El Paso, Texas shopping mall shooting on Wednesday, leaving dozens dead in shootings across the United States this year.
El Paso police said two people had been taken into custody hours after the shooting, but details of what led to the shooting remained unclear.
Interim Police Chief Peter Pasillas said the Cielo Vista Mall is still considered a crime scene and will remain closed until authorities complete their investigation.
Mr. Pacillas stressed that the danger has passed.
“There is no more danger. I want to repeat this:
There is no longer a danger to the public,” Pasillas said.
The shooting occurred across a busy shopping district and a large Walmart parking lot where 23 people were killed in a 2019 racist attack against Hispanics. El Paso is located on the U.S. border with Mexico, home to approximately 700,000 predominantly Hispanic residents, and is frequented by residents of both countries.
“Today’s shooting at Cielo Vista Mall brought traumatic memories to many of us. Please know you are not alone,” said the Democratic US representative. Veronica Escobar of the district that includes El Paso said on Twitter:
She urged anyone who needed it to contact the city’s crisis hotline.
The United States has so far seen mass shootings in 2023, killing dozens of people. Most recently, three of her students died and five were injured at Michigan State University on Monday. In January, in the town of Monterey Park near Los Angeles, 11 people died while trying to celebrate the Lunar New Year at a dance hall popular with older Asian Americans.
Mr. Pacillas said his two people detained after Wednesday’s shooting, as well as all of the victims, are men. El Paso’s University Medical Center said in a statement that two shooting victims being treated there are in critical condition.
The condition of the third victim was not immediately known.
Police had previously said a shooting had been reported at the mall’s food court.
Authorities have set up a reunion center at a nearby high school so those affected by the shooting can reunite with their loved ones.
The FBI, which is assisting the El Paso Police Department in its investigation, has launched a website to release photos and videos of the shooting.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said in a tweet Wednesday night that he spoke with the mayor of El Paso and offered assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Emergency Management Agency.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there will be more than 600 mass shootings in the United States in 2022, killing or injuring at least four of his people.
