El Paso shooting: ‘Random incident’ between two groups of men led to Cielo Vista Mall shooting

Shooting took place in mall adjacent to Walmart where 23 were killed in 2019 massacre

El Paso shooting: Police look for suspect as one dead and three injured in shopping mall

The shooting which unfolded in a mall in El Paso, Texas, this week was the result of a “random incident” between two groups of men, according to investigators.

Gunfire erupted at around 5pm on Wednesday in the food court of the Cielo Vista Mall, leaving one man killed and another three men wounded. Two suspects – both male – were quickly arrested.

In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, El Paso interim Police Chief Peter Pacillas said that the shooting was not gang related but came about when two groups got into a “confrontation” and “physical altercation” in the food court.

“This is a random incident encounter between two groups. I want to emphasise this. This is a random incident that occurred between two groups at the mall,” he said.

During the altercation, one man pulled out a hangun and shots were fired.

The shooting has brought back “bad memories” for the El Paso community, with Cielo Vista Mall being located directly adjacent to the Walmart store where 23 people were killed in a racially-motivated mass shooting back in August 2019.

Key points

• El Paso shooting was result of ‘random incident’ between two groups.
• Police reassure El Paso ‘this was no attack against the community’
• Father of Uvalde victim blasts Governor Abbott after El Paso shooting
• CNN anchor notes ‘blip of momentum for gun legislation that quickly faded'
• Beto O’Rourke shares his outrage after yet another mass shooting
• PHOTOS: Law enforcement responds to El Paso shooting

[17 February 2023 11:30 · Rachel Sharp]

Victims and suspects ages revealed

The identities of those involved in the shooting – including the victims and suspects – have not been publically released.

However, El Paso interim Police Chief Peter Pacillas said on Thursday that all individuals involved ranged in age from their late teens to early 20s.

The two suspects remain in custody.

[17 February 2023 12:00 · Gustaf Kilander]

Ex-Trump admin official says aunt was hiding from El Paso gunman after surviving nearby 2019 massacre

A former Trump administration official has said that her aunt was hiding from the El Paso gunman after surviving the 2019 massacre in the same area.

Olivia Troye was the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence before resigning in August 2020.

One man was killed and three were injured in the shooting at a mall in El Paso in southern Texas on Wednesday night. A massacre took place not far from the mall just three years earlier.

Two men were detained after shots were fired at Cielo Vista Mall, police said.

“It was chaotic. People did flee. They were scared,” police Sgt Robert Gomez said, according to CNN.

[17 February 2023 12:30 · Rachel Sharp]

Three people were ‘legally armed’ during shooting

At least three people were found to be legally carrying handguns in the mall at the time of the shooting, El Paso interim Police Chief Peter Pacillas said.

In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, he said that during the investigation police located three people at the mall who were found to be armed – but were lawfully carrying under Texas law.

It is not clear if these three individuals were among those involved in the shooting,

In Texas, people aged 21 and older can legally carry firearms in public.

Some locations are classed as exempt locations but the Cielo Vista Mall is not among them.

[17 February 2023 13:00 · Rachel Sharp]

Cielo Vista Mall workers who survived 2019 Walmart massacre describe horror of latest El Paso mass shooting

Shopping mall workers who survived the 2019 Walmart massacre have described their horror at finding themselves in the midst of the latest mass shooting to rock El Paso, Texas.

One victim was killed and three others hospitalised when gunfire erupted inside the Cielo Vista Mall on Wednesday.

Two male suspects have now been taken into custody with the motive still unknown.

The Cielo Vista Mall is directly adjacent to the Walmart store where a lone gunman murdered 23 people in a racist attack back in August 2019.

Several of the same local residents and workers who survived that day three years ago were at the mall on Wednesday, living through their second mass shooting in the space of less than four years.

[17 February 2023 13:30 · Rachel Sharp]

Police reassure El Paso ‘this was no attack against the community’ – in wake of 2019 Walmart massacre

Law enforcement officials have sought to reassure residents of El Paso that Wednesday’s deadly shooting “was no attack against the community” – as the incident brought up bad memories of the 2019 Walmart massacre.

On 3 August 2019, a gunman entered the Walmart adjacent to the Cielo Vista Mall and opened fire, killing 23 in a racially-motivated attack on the Hispanic community.

On Thursday, El Paso Police Sgt. Javier Sambrano insisted that Wednesday’s shooting was random and was not targeted against the mall or the people of El Paso.

“This was no attack against the community. This was something that was not planned. It was an encounter between two groups that unfortunately resulted in a shooting,” he said.

“It is very important that this information is relayed accurately so as to not panic the community.”

[17 February 2023 14:00 · Rachel Sharp]

Everything we know about the massacre at Cielo Vista Mall

One man has been killed and another three men wounded in a mass shooting in a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, sparking renewed terror in a local community still scarred from the last massacre three years ago.

Two suspects – both male – are now in police custody over the incident that unfolded at Cielo Vista Mall on Wednesday late afternoon.

All four victims are males with two of the survivors still in critical condition in hospital.

The shooting has brought back “bad memories” for the El Paso community, with Cielo Vista Mall being located directly adjacent to the Walmart store where 23 people were killed in a racially-motivated mass shooting back in August 2019.

This latest massacre also comes at a time when America is facing a surge in mass shootings – and with it, growing calls for tighter gun control to prevent more communities from being torn apart by gun violence.

Here’s what we know so far about the latest mass shooting in El Paso: