Walmart mass shooter avoids death penalty with plea deal

The shooter took a deal with prosecutors on Monday and pleaded guilty to fatally shooting 23 people and injuring 22 more in El Paso in 2019. His plea will allow him to avoid the death penalty and instead serve life in prison without the chance of parole. The shooter already received dozens of consecutive life sentences for pleading guilty to previous federal hate crimes and weapons charges. The attack is recognized as one of the top 10 deadliest mass shootings in American history, according to data from Statista.

What was his motivation for shooting? The then-21-year-old drove nine hours to the southern Texas Walmart where he opened fire. He targeted Hispanic-looking individuals and told law enforcement that he was trying to stop what he described as a Hispanic invasion of the United States. El Paso District Attorney James Montoya opted to drop the death penalty charges to put the shooter away for the rest of his life for the sake of the victims and their families, according to a statement WORLD received from Montoya’s office. Families wanted the years-long legal battle to end and finally face the person responsible for the horrific attack, the statement added.

Dig deeper: Read Lynde Langdon’s initial report on the shooting in 2019.