Gunman who killed 23 in racist attack at Texas Walmart is 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 during a news conference that his decision in the prosecution of Patrick Crusius, who drove across the state for one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history and posted a racist screed just before opening fire, was driven by a majority of victims' relatives who wanted the case behind them.

“This is about allowing the families of the 23 victims who lost their lives on that horrific day — and the 22 wounded — to finally have resolution in our court system,” Montoya said in a statement.

“Now, no one in this community will ever have to hear the perpetrator’s name ever again,” he added. “No more hearings. No more appeals. He will die in prison.”

But Montoya also acknowledged at the news conference that not all families agreed with the reversal by his office, which under previous leadership had committed to taking the case to trial and seeking the death penalty.

Adria Gonzalez, a survivor who helped panicked shoppers toward exits, said she feels that not pursuing the death penalty is “a slap in the face for all the victims.”

Under the offer, Montoya said, Crusius would plead guilty to capital murder and receive life in prison with no possibility of parole. The plea hearing and sentencing is set for April 21, Montoya said, and families will be able to give victim impact statements.

Mark Stevens, an attorney for Crusius, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Crusius, 26, was already sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences at the federal level after pleading guilty in 2023 to hate crime charges. Under the Biden administration, federal prosecutors also took the death penalty off the table.

Montoya said he supports the death penalty and believes Crusius deserves it. But he said he met with the families of the victims and while some were willing to wait as long as it took for a death sentence, there was an overriding desire to conclude the process.

“I’m just glad it’s over,” said Elise Hoffmann-Taus, whose father, Alexander Hoffmann was among those killed. “This is the outcome I wanted.”

Montoya, a Democrat who took office in January after defeating a Republican incumbent appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, is the fourth district attorney to oversee the case.

His predecessor, Bill Hicks, said following the announcement that while he had been ready to take the case to trial and pursue the death penalty, he could not fault Montoya’s reasoning behind the plea offer.

“It is not the reasoning I would have followed,” Hicks said. “I know that it was very hard for him, and I respect that it was a very difficult decision.”

Crusius, who is white, was 21 years old and had dropped out of community college when police say he drove more than 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) from his home near Dallas to El Paso.

Moments after posting online his racist rant, which warned of a Hispanic “invasion” of the state, he opened fire with an AK-style rifle inside and outside the store.

Crusius was arrested shortly after the shooting and confessed to officers who stopped him at an intersection, police have said.

Prior to the attack, Crusius appears to have been consumed by the immigration debate, posting online in support of building the border wall and other messages praising the hard-line border policies of President Donald Trump, who was in his first term at the time. He went further in the screed right before the shootings, saying Hispanics were going to take over the government and economy.

In the federal case, prosecutors did not formally explain their decision not to seek the death penalty, but they did acknowledge that Crusius suffered from schizoaffective disorder, which can be marked by hallucinations, delusions and mood swings.

Abbott, a Republican, said Tuesday after the announcement that he thought Crusius deserved to die: “Any shooting like that is what capital punishment is for.”

The people who were killed ranged in age from a 15-year-old high school athlete to several grandparents. They included immigrants, a retired city bus driver, teachers, tradesmen including a former iron worker, and several Mexican nationals who had crossed the U.S. border on routine shopping trips.

In 2023, Crusius agreed to pay more than $5 million to his victims. Court records showed that his attorneys and the Justice Department reached an agreement over the restitution amount, which was then approved by a U.S. district judge. There was no indication that he had significant assets.

Dean Reckard, whose mother, Margie Reckard, was also killed in the shooting, said Crusius deserves death but it’s time to put the matter to rest.

“Our loved ones will always be loved and remembered as decent people who were just living their lives and doing their best,” he said. “We need to do the same. It’s what they would have wanted.”

Associated Press writers Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas, and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, contributed.

El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya speaks during a news conference Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya speaks during a news conference Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

A memorial to honor the victims of the 2019 Walmart mass shooting, is pictured on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

The plaque of the "Grand Candela", a memorial to honor the victims of the 2019 Walmart mass shooting, showing their names is pictured on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

The "Grand Candela", a memorial to honor the victims of the 2019 Walmart mass shooting is pictured on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

A memorial to honor the victims of the 2019 Walmart mass shooting, is pictured on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya speaks during a news conference Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

A memorial to honor the victims of the 2019 Walmart mass shooting, is pictured on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2019, file photo, police officers walk behind a Walmart at the scene of a mass shooting at a shopping complex in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2019, photo Texas state police cars block the access to the Walmart store in the aftermath of a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)

FILE - In the is Oct. 10, 2019 file photo, El Paso Walmart shooting suspect Patrick Crusius pleads not guilty during his arraignment in El Paso, Texas. (Briana Sanchez/El Paso Times via AP, Pool, File)

FILE - Mourners visit a makeshift memorial on Aug. 12, 2019, near the Walmart in El Paso, Texas, where people were killed in a mass shooting. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio, File)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The sun was shining outside President Donald Trump's West Palm Beach golf course on Saturday morning when Alan Mentser got a call letting him know that police were shutting down a road nearby. It was almost time to “show the boss a little love.”

Mentser, 65, and a group of hard-core supporters have spent years gathering at the same spot to welcome Trump when he comes to play golf, and they have the routine down. They monitor flight trackers to know when Air Force One arrives and traffic cameras to see if the presidential motorcade is on the move.

It’s an intense commitment of time and resources for a brief glimpse of their political hero. Mentser pointed to a gigantic banner showing Trump giving a thumbs up against an American flag backdrop. He said each one costs $300, and he has about eight of them.

But Mentser said it's worth it at a time when supporters view Trump as a man under siege from his enemies and fabricated controversies.

"It might give him 30 seconds of seeing, ‘there’s my people,’" he said. “But that 30 seconds matter.”

Now it was time to do it again. The cue was a siren as a police vehicle blocked the road in front of the golf club.

“Here we go!” Mentser said. When he glimpsed the motorcade in the distance, he announced, “attention on deck.”

A member of the group switched the soundtrack on a portable speaker from country music to “YMCA,” the Trump campaign anthem.

The convoy of black cars rolled down the street and turned into the golf club. Trump was wearing his typical red “Make America Great Again” hat and white polo shit, and he reached across his chest to wave to the crowd with his left hand.

“President Trump! We love you!” shouted Brady Collier, 31, who wore the same hat as the president.

It was over in less than 30 seconds.

A woman with white hair pulled up shortly afterward with her windows down and a dog in the passenger seat. She waved one middle finger at the golf club and another at Trump’s supporters. Someone called her a “baby killer” before she drove off.

The moment didn’t dampen Collier’s enthusiasm. Despite all the times that he's witnessed Trump's motorcade, he said “today was special.” This time, the limo seemed to roll slower and closer to the sidewalk, giving Collier a better glimpse of the president.

“There’s nothing cooler than that,” he said. “Other than Jesus Christ.”

Collier, 31, is from Indiana but spent the winter in Florida, where he’s doing landscaping and food deliveries. It’s also an opportunity to show his support for Trump as often as possible.

Jared Petry, 24, has been doing the same thing. He’s from Ohio and is one of the “Front Row Joes,” a group of superfans that traveled the country supporting Trump at campaign rallies. Petry was in Butler, Pennsylvania, last summer when the president was fired upon in an assassination attempt.

“I heard popping. I didn’t know what was going on,” he said.

Petry was near the front of the audience, and he captured video of Trump, surrounded by Secret Service agents, lurching to his feet and pumping his fist in the air.

“I knew he was OK,” he said.

Now, Petry is outside the golf course every weekend.

“He never forgets his supporters," he said. “He waves at us.”

The group chatted about going to a nearby restaurant where Fox News host Sean Hannity is sometimes spotted, but something different happened this time. A group of staff members from the golf club came over to invite them in for a meal.

Mentser said that had never happened before. They ate freshly made omelets and blueberry muffins and walked out to the veranda, where they could see Trump playing one of the holes on his golf course.

The group refrained from trying to get Trump's attention, Mentser said.

“You don’t want to have the president post on Truth Social that ‘I was lining up my putt and my supporters threw off my game,'” he joked.

The whole experience, Mentser said, was “tremendous.”

“It’s a small way for him to say thank you, I see you," he said.

President Donald Trump waves to supporters from his limousine as he arrives at Trump International Golf Club, Saturday, March 29, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Jared Petry, a supporter of President Donald Trump, wears a number 47 Trump shirt as he joins other Trump supporters outside the Trump International Golf Club, Saturday, March 29, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Brady Collier, a supporter of President Donald Trump, joins others gathered outside the Trump International Golf Club, Saturday, March 29, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Alan Mentser, in foreground at left, from West Palm Beach, Fla., joins other supporters of President Donald Trump outside the Trump International Golf Club, Saturday, March 29, 2025, in West Palm Beach. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)