El Paso Walmart shooting at Cielo Vista Mall: What we know now – USA TODAY

EL PASO, Texas – Police reported a multiple people are dead and one person is in custody after a shooting Saturday at a Walmart in El Paso near Cielo Vista Saturday.

Phone calls started coming in at approximately 10 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time about the shooting at the Walmart and “possibly” at a nearby mall, El Paso police said. 

Here’s what we know about the shooting so far.

Multiple fatalities reported

An El Paso police officer at the scene said there were multiple fatalities in the attack, although the number was not confirmed. A spokesman for University Medical Center of El Paso said the hospital has received victims from the shooting, but did not have a number.

One suspect in custody

Police reported via radio around midday that they had a suspect in custody. At a later update, El Paso Police Sgt. Robert Gomez gave more details. He said the suspect is a white male in his 20s. He said initial reports were that the shooter used a rifle, but he could not confirm those reports. Mayor Dee Margo had said earlier that three people were in custody, but police now say they have what is believed to be the lone suspect in custody.

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Fire and medical officials gather at Walmart near Cielo Vista Mall after an active shooter was reported. Police still inside.
Mark R Lambie, El Paso Times

‘God be with you all’: Trump pledges full support

President Donald Trump pledged the “total support” of the federal government in the wake of a mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart that left multiple victims dead and many more wounded. Trump’s tweet of support and sympathy were among many expressions of condolence and other emotions that federal officials shared Saturday in the hours following the massacre. Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar abruptly ended a town hall. Beto O’Rourke choked back tears. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – once again – called for an end to mass shootings.

Beto O’Rourke responds to El Paso shooting

In Las Vegas for a presidential forum, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke addressed the mass shooting in his hometown in a Walmart near Cielo Vista Mall.

“We know that a lot of injury, a lot of suffering in El Paso right now,” he said. “I am incredibly saddened, and it is very hard to think about this.”

Standing in front of a room of news cameras and reporters, O’Rourke broke into tears.

Rep. Veronica Escobar town hall interrupted by news of shooting

The shooting at an El Paso Walmart forced a Texas congresswoman to abruptly cut short a Saturday town hall at a local high school. Rep. Veronica Escobar, a freshman Democrat who represents El Paso, was roughly an hour into the town hall at the city’s Coronado High School when it appeared she received news of the shooting. The scene, captured on a live video feed on the congresswoman’s Facebook page, shows a few seconds of inaudible speaking before Escobar again takes the microphone.

El Paso Walmart employee describes the scene when the shooting began

Wal-Mart employee Leslie Diaz talks about the moments the shooting began at the store located near Cielo Vista Mall.

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Wal-Mart employee Leslie Diaz talks about the moments the shooting began at the store located near Cielo Vista Mall.
Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times

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