El Paso Congresswoman Veronica Escobar cites epidemic of ‘hate’ & ‘gun violence’ for mass shooting
Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), whose district includes the El Paso Walmart where 20 people were shot and killed Saturday in the eighth worst mass shooting in U.S. history, cited epidemics of “hate” and “gun violence” as key factors in the tragedy. (Watch her entire news conference Sunday evening in El Paso in the vide player below.)
“We’ve been one of the safest communities in the nation for decades,” Escobar said Sunday. “We are a warm, loving, compassionate, bi-national community, we love to celebrate and embrace our diversity, our location on the U.S.-Mexico border.”
As for the shooter, who authorities have identified as Patrick Crusius, 21, of Allen, Texas, Escobar said, “this individual came not from within the community, but outside of it.”
“In this country, we have a gun violence epidemic, but we also have a hate epidemic,” Escobar added. “And until we confront that hate and until we confront the weak gun laws that we have, we’re going to keep seeing this.”
Escobar said that the shopping mall are where the shootings occurred is located in the center of the community.
“It’s the store that my mom shops at,” she said. “It’s the store that my family and I shop at. And so there’s no surprise that it was very, very busy.”
On concerns that immigrant communities may be afraid to report crimes out of fear of deportation, Escobar said that she’s scared for immigrant communities across the country.
“We have a very different philosophy in El Paso from the philosophy that emanates from the White House,” she added. “We embrace one another and take care of one another.”
