EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Several victims of the Aug. 3, 2019 massacre expressed their rage and grief towards El Paso Walmart shooter Patrick Crusius for the last time, confronting him face to face as victim impact statements continued on Tuesday, April 22.
Crusius pleaded guilty to state charges on Monday, April 21, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The shooter pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder of multiple people and 22 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Victim impact statements began at 1 p.m. Monday and continued into Tuesday at the El Paso County Courthouse.
Several individuals confronted the shooter on Tuesday, expressing their full-on rage and grief they have endured for nearly six years.
Francisco Rodriguez, father of the youngest victim from the massacre, Javier Rodriguez, confronted the shooter, telling the shooter to look at him while he was giving his impact statement.
“My son was 15 years old at the time. He was pretty much a bystander. He just went down there with his uncle to the bank. Look at me. Look at my son. You had the balls to come down here and do what you wanted to do right? Look at him. I’m only asking you two minutes. Two minutes of your time. You had over 10 hours to think about what you were going to do. Now you can’t give me two minutes? Thanks to you, now I go to the cemetery with my family on my son’s birthday.”
Hilda Reckard, the daughter-in-law of victim Margie Reckerd, who died in the shooting, approached the microphone with full rage.
“It is disgusting that you could not even say, or get your lawyer to say to these people that you are sorry for what the hell you did. They did more for you than you did for them you (expletive). They saved your (expletive) life and you can’t say you’re sorry? Why is it so hard to take a damn gun away from somebody that is sick?,” Reckard said.
Dean Reckard, son of Margie Reckerd, also confronted the shooter.
“I noticed your family isn’t here. They’ll probably have to hide for the rest of their lives because of the evil you brought upon their name. I’m not buying into this mental illness issue that your lawyers want us to believe. To me, you’re just a copycat killer who wanted some attention. My hope is you wake up each morning wishing you were dead,” Reckard said.
“What he did was cowardly. You know, I never thought I’d see the day that I’d see a clown in handcuffs,” Raul Melendez, family member of David Johnson, who died in the shooting, said.
One of the victims compared the shooter to Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany who was responsible for millions of Jewish people who died during the Holocaust.
“You remind me of a man who had mental illness as well, and was a racist as well. His name was Adolf Hitler. His objective was Jewish people. Your objective was Mexican people,” Misty Jamrowski, mother of Jordan Anchodo, who died in the shooting, said.
Another victim was given permission by Judge Sam Medrano to hug the shooter as a sign of forgiveness.
“Ma’am, would it truly bring you peace and comfort and healing to hug him?” Medrano asked.
“Yes,” Yolanda Tinajero, niece of Arturo Benavides, who died in the shooting, said.
“You go right on ahead,” Medrano said.
As Tinajero hugged the shooter, the sound of crying could be heard in the courtroom.
Statements will continue on Tuesday afternoon, and this story will be updated with the latest.
Previously, the shooter pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal charges and was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms without possibility of parole.
The shooter killed 23 people on Aug. 3, 2019 and injured more than 20 others in a racially motivated attack at the Cielo Vista Walmart.
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