A 21-year-old Texan opened fire in a Walmart supermarket in El Paso, United States, killing at least 20 people: the alleged motive is racial hatred. A few hours later, a shooting also took place in Ohio.
"They left us men and women who should be here with us today." These were the opening words of Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, at the press conference that followed the massacre in El Paso, on the border with Mexico. On Saturday morning, shortly after 10:00 (19:00 in Italy), a man burst into a Walmart supermarket armed with a Kalashnikov and began shooting at everyone he found in front of him, killing twenty people — seven of whom were of Mexican origin — and wounding twenty-six.
The first call to 911, the North American emergency number, was made at 10:39. Police intervened six minutes later and managed to arrest the killer, who was subsequently identified as Patrick Crusius, a 21-year-old from the outskirts of Dallas. El Paso police chief Greg Allen stated that "it could be a hate crime."
It is still unclear whether it was actually his work, but it appears that before carrying out the attack, Crusius posted a manifesto on 8chan — a niche website known for hosting numerous far-right, openly racist and sexist forums — against "the Hispanic invasion of Texas."
United States President Donald Trump, who since his election campaign has waged a battle against illegal immigration, among other things calling for the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico, wrote on Twitter that this is not merely a tragedy, but an "act of cowardice."
Dee Margo, mayor of El Paso — a city whose population is 82 per cent Hispanic or Latino in origin — tried to comfort his community: "What will define us is the unity and compassion we have shown in the wake of this tragedy. By staying together, we will heal."
The city's residents did not hesitate to offer to donate blood, with queues forming outside clinics. "It's easy to make a dollar, but it's harder to make a difference," a woman standing in line explained to CNN.
Police shot and killed him, but the man who at one o'clock in the morning on Sunday 4 August (around 7:00 in the morning in Italy) gunned down nine people in Dayton, Ohio, near the Ned Peppers bar in the Oregon District — renowned for its nightlife venues and art galleries — has not yet been identified. At least 27 people were wounded, 15 of whom have been discharged from hospital. The city's mayor, Nan Whaley, thanked law enforcement for their swift response and added that her "heart is broken."
