At Least Nineteen Dead In Shooting In El Paso

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — At least 19 people were killed in a shooting Saturday in a busy shopping area in the Texas border town of El Paso, and a 21-year-old man was taken into custody, law enforcement officials said.  Two law enforcement officials identified the gunman as Patrick Crusius of the Dallas area. One of the officials told The Associated Press that at least 15 people were killed. The officials were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation publicly, and both spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.  Hospital officials said another 23 people were injured and being treated.  Most of the victims were shot at a Walmart near the Cielo Vista Mall, El Paso police Sgt. Robert Gomez said at a news conference. He said the store was packed with as many as 3,000 people during the busy back-to-school shopping season.  “This is unprecedented in El Paso,” said Gomez, who added that many of the injured had life-threatening injuries.  Police responded in the midmorning to an active shooter scene at the mall, near Interstate 10 on the east side of the city, and were advising people to stay away from the area and to look for missing family members at a school being used as a reunification area.  The mass shooting in El Paso came less than a week after a gunman opened fire on a California food festival. Santino William Legan, 19, killed three people and injured 13 others last Sunday at the popular Gilroy Garlic Festival, and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  Ryan Mielke, a spokesman for University Medical Center of El Paso, said 12 people were brought to the hospital with injuries, including one that died. Two of the injured were children who were being transferred to El Paso Children’s Hospital, he said. He declined to provide additional details on the victims.  Police said by midafternoon that a suspect was in custody and the public was no longer in danger. Gomez said the suspect, who used a rifle, was arrested without incident. Police believe he was the “sole shooter” but are continuing to investigate reports that others were involved.