The government of Mexico demanded on Sunday that Mexican-Americans in El Paso receive protections after a fatal shooting in the city left 20 people dead.
“We consider this an act of terrorism against the community of Mexico,” Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard said during a press conference, suggesting that the designation may be made official by prosecutors, which would give them access to “all the information related to the case.”
Ebrard added that the information could “let us evaluate whether there are other individuals involved or potentially involved that could put Mexicans at risk.”
The secretary further noted that the country may seek to extradite the suspect on charges of terrorism, after 6 Mexicans were killed and another seven injured in the mass shooting. The alleged gunman, Patrick Wood Crusius, drove eight hours from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to El Paso, an area where a large Hispanic population lives, The Hill informs.
Prior to the attack, he wrote a racist manifesto that described fears of a Latino “invasion.” Crusius used a semi-automatic Ak-47 and Ebrard said his country would also be seeking information from the United States about how the weapon was obtained. “We consider the issue of arms to be crucial,” he said.
The foreign secretary then stressed that Mexico will take legal action over Saturday’s mass shooting. In a video posted on Twitter, Ebrard said that officials had been instructed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to ensure that “the position from Mexico translates first as protecting the affected families and after in effective, swift, expeditious and forceful legal actions.”
Mexico’s ambassador to Washington, Martha Bárcena, likewise condemned the attack, saying, “The intentionality of the attack against the Mexicans and the Latino community in El Paso is frightening. NO to hate speech. NO to xenophobic discourse.”
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