Shooter killing 23 at U.S. Texas Walmart will not face death penalty

El Paso District Attorney James Montoya's office last month offered Crusius the plea deal to avoid the death penalty.

HOUSTON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Patrick Crusius, the shooter who killed 23 people in a 2019 attack targeting Hispanic migrants at a Walmart in El Paso, U.S. state of Texas, will not face the death penalty after he pleaded guilty in a state court on Monday.

Instead, he was sentenced to 23 consecutive life sentences.

El Paso District Attorney James Montoya's office last month offered Crusius the plea deal to avoid the death penalty.

At the time, Montoya said he personally believed Crusius should be executed but the death penalty would delay a trial even further, noting that most of the victim's families just want the case's closure.

Crusius was sentenced to 90 life terms in 2023 in his federal trial after pleading guilty.

The 2019 attack is one of the deadliest shootings in the United States. ■