Gunman who killed 23 at El Paso Walmart offered plea deal to avoid death penalty

The gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack targeting Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart near the U.S.-Mexico border in 2019 would avoid the death penalty under a plea offer announced Tuesday, abruptly ending years of efforts by prosecutors to see that he face execution by lethal injection.

El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya said his decision in the prosecution of Patrick Crusius for one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history was driven by victims' families who wanted the case behind them.

"I could see a worst-case scenario where this would not go to trial until 2028 if we continued to seek the death penalty," he said.