Alleged shooter cased El Paso Walmart before rampage that killed 22

The suspect in the killing rampage at a Walmart in El Paso allegedly cased the store, looking for Mexicans to kill before he came back and unleashed a barrage of gunfire that left 22 people dead and more than two dozens injured, law enforcement officials told ABC News.

The latest twist in the investigation of the mass shooting came just hours after doctors in El Paso confirmed that two more victims had died from bullet wounds suffered in the Saturday morning massacre — increasing the death toll to 22.

The suspect, identified as Patrick Crusius, 21, told investigators following his arrest that he allegedly set out to kill as many Mexicans as he could, according to authorities.

On Monday, law enforcement officials told ABC News that Crusius cased the Walmart, going inside on Saturday without any weapons, apparently to size up the clientele inside the store, which is about 5 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Satisfied with what he saw among the 1,000 to 3000 people that police estimate were inside at the time, Crusius exited the store and allegedly armed himself.

He returned wearing protective ear muffs, safety glasses and wielding a high-powered assault-style rifle, according to video surveillance of him inside the store.

Police officials said he allegedly started firing indiscriminately at victims before he even walked through the front door.

In addition to the 22 dead, more than two dozen people wounded in the massacre that erupted about 10:39 a.m. on Saturday inside the Walmart, including children and parents drawn to a back-to-school sale.

Alvaro Mena, whose parents were among those shot, told ABC News he believes the gunman targeted them because they are Hispanic.

Mena said his family is “devastated” by the loss of his father — 78-year-old Juan Valazquez, who died Monday morning at Del Sol hospital — and are now afraid for their own lives after police said the suspect told investigators he was out to kill as many Mexicans as he could.

“We are afraid to go out,” Mena said. “We are afraid to go out into the streets because we feel like we are being hunted because of skin color.”

Mena said his both his mother and father were shot outside the Walmart when they went to the store to exchange merchandise they had purchased there.

He said his mother remains in the hospital and is expected to survive.

Crusius, who lives in Allen, Texas — approximately 600 miles from the Walmart — is being held on a charge of capital murder. Crusius, who court documents showed was unemployed for the last 5 months, has been ordered held without bond. He was granted a court-appointed public defender.