Three people have been injured and one person was killed in a shooting at a mall in El Paso, Texas. The deadly mass shooting took place on Wednesday.
The incident adds to the already dozens of mass shootings in the United States this year. The El Paso police department has confirmed that two individuals have been taken into custody, but details of the motive behind the attack remain unclear.
Interim Police Chief Peter Pacillas has stated that the Cielo Vista Mall is still a crime scene and will remain under lockdown until the investigation is completed. Pacillas, however, reassured the public that the danger has passed.
The gunfire broke out in a busy shopping area, near the site of a previous deadly Walmart shooting in 2019.
Democratic U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar, whose district includes El Paso, expressed her sympathy on Twitter and encouraged those who have been affected to reach out to the city’s crisis hotline.
The two suspects detained by the police, as well as all of the victims, are males, according to Pacillas. University Medical Center in El Paso confirmed that two of the gunshot victims being treated there are in critical condition, while the condition of the third victim remains unknown.
The police created a reunification center at a nearby high school, where people affected by the shooting can reconnect with their loved ones. The FBI is aiding the El Paso Police Department in the investigation and has set up a website where the public can share any relevant footage or photographs of the incident.
On Wednesday night, Republican Governor Greg Abbott tweeted that he spoke with the mayor of El Paso and offered support from the Texas Department of Public and Safety and the Texas Division of Emergency Management.