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Mourners in Ciudad Juarez,
Mexico, take part in a
vigil near the border
fence between Mexico and
the U.S after a mass
shooting at a Walmart
store in El Paso, Texas.
/ VOA courtesy photo
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Authorities
confirm no Costa Ricans
among the victims of U.S.
shootings
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and
wire services
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
confirmed on Sunday that there
are no Costa Ricans affected in
the weekend shootings in the
United States.
"We remain vigilant, and are
following up on the case," said
Herbert Espinoza of the
Consulate of Costa Rica, in
Houston, Texas.
The Government, through the
ministry, expressed its
condolences to the victim's
families from the two shootings,
in which 29 people died.
"The Government of the Republic
of Costa Rica deplores this
attack against innocent people,
and also expresses its
solidarity with the families of
the victims," said the ministry
in its report.
The U.S. Consulate set up the
line +832 438 81 80 and two
emails hespinoza@rree.go.cr
and consularappts@gmail.com,
for Costa Ricans needing
assistance.
According to the most updated
information from the wire, in
the United States, two shooters
in separate incidents killed 29
people and injured dozens,
leaving authorities searching
for motives behind the mayhem,
said Voice of American in its
report.
U.S. President Donald Trump on
Sunday ordered flags at all
government buildings to be flown
at half-staff for the next five
days, "as a mark of solemn
respect for the victims of the
terrible acts of violence" in El
Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
President Trump called the
killings a mental health issue
and said he planned to make a
more extensive statement about
the massacres Monday morning.
A gunman wearing body armor and
carrying extra magazines of
ammunition was shot to death by
police less than a minute after
he opened fire early Sunday in a
popular nightlife area in the
Midwest city of Dayton. The man
killed nine people including his
sister and wounded at least 27,
four seriously.
Police said they believe there
was only one shooter in the
incident, 24-year-old Connor
Betts, who said on social media
that he was a psychology student
at a community college in the
Dayton area. But police have not
yet suggested a motive.
They said Betts was white, as
were three of the fatally
wounded. The six others were
African-Americans.
Dayton Police Chief Richard
Beihl said officers were
patrolling the crowded Oregon
District which is packed with
bars, restaurants, and theaters
when Betts opened fire. Police
shot and killed him within 30
seconds.
He said the gunman was carrying
a .223-caliber semi-automatic
rifle, the same-sized weapon a
gunman employed in one of the
most horrific mass shootings in
the U.S. in recent years -- the
2012 massacre of 20
schoolchildren and six adults in
Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.
The Ohio bloodshed occurred
about 13 hours after police in
the U.S.-Mexican border city of
El Paso, say a gunman opened
fire at a Walmart store, killing
at least 20 people and wounding
26 -- an attack, authorities say
they are investigating as a
possible hate crime targeting
Hispanics.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel
Lopez Obrador says six Mexican
citizens were among those
killed. Mexicans near the border
town liked to cross into El Paso
to shop at Walmart.
The El Paso and Dayton incidents
are the nation's 21st and 22nd
mass killing incidents this
year, according to a database
compiled by the Associated
Press, USA Today and
Northeastern University. The
archive defines a mass killing
as four or more people shot
dead, excluding the gunman, at
one location. A separate
database counts more than 250
incidents this year in which
four or more people have been
killed or wounded.
The latest shootings came a week
after a gunman killed three at a
food festival in California and
followed the killing of 58 at a
country music festival in 2017
in California, 49 at an Orlando,
Fla., nightclub in 2016 and 25
at a Texas church in 2017.
U.S. authorities try to figure
out ways to stop the slaughter
of innocents in a country where
gun ownership is enshrined as a
constitutional right. Some
lawmakers have attempted to curb
gun ownership or stiffen the
regulations surrounding gun
sales, but have generally been
rebuffed by other lawmakers
opposed to new restrictions.
Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod
Brown said he is angered by
state and national lawmakers who
won't approve additional gun
controls, saying politicians'
"thoughts and prayers are not
enough" as a response to mass
killings.
Trump tweeted that "The FBI,
local, and state law enforcement
are working together in El Paso
and in Dayton, Ohio. Information
is rapidly being accumulated in
Dayton. Much has already be
learned in El Paso. Law
enforcement was very rapid in
both instances. Updates will be
given throughout the day!"
Several Democratic presidential
candidates - Senators Cory
Booker, Bernie Sanders, and
former Texas Congressman Beto
O'Rourke - blamed Trump's
anti-immigrant rhetoric for
fostering a climate of hate
leading to the El Paso shooting.
"Donald Trump is responsible for
this," Booker told CNN. "He is
responsible because he is
stoking fears and hatred and
bigotry."
But acting White House chief of
staff Mick Mulvaney rejected any
attempt to blame Trump.
"I blame the people who are
sick," Mulvaney told NBC's Meet
the Press interview show.
"People are going to hear what
they want to hear," but added:
"This was a political motive by
a crazy person."
In El Paso, police chief Greg
Allen said police are seeking to
confirm that the 21-year-old
white male suspect now in
custody was the author of an
online posting predicting a
shooting spree intended to
target Hispanics. Police
identify the suspect as Patrick
Crusius, who lived in the Dallas
area, hundreds of kilometers
away from El Paso.
The post appeared online about
an hour before the shooting and
included language that
complained about the "Hispanic
invasion" of Texas. The author
of the manifesto wrote that he
expected to be killed during the
attack.
The writer of the manifesto
denied he was a white
supremacist, but decried "race
mixing" in the United States,
calling instead for territorial
enclaves separated by race. The
first sentence of the document
expressed support for the man
accused of killing 51 people at
two mosques in Christchurch, New
Zealand, in March, after he had
posted his own conspiracy theory
that non-white migrants were
replacing whites.
Democratic Congressman Joaquin
Castro of Texas said "This vile
act of terrorism against
Hispanic Americans was inspired
by divisive racial and ethnic
rhetoric and enabled by weapons
of war. The language in the
shooter's manifesto is
consistent with President Donald
Trump's description of Hispanic
immigrants as 'invaders.'"
Castro, chairman of the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus,
said, "Today's shooting is a
stark reminder of the dangers of
such rhetoric."
Trump said Saturday that he and
first lady Melania Trump "send
our heartfelt thoughts and
prayers to the great people of
Texas."
He also tweeted: "Today's
shooting in El Paso, Texas was
not only tragic, it was an act
of cowardice. I know that
I stand with everyone in this
Country to condemn today's
hateful act. There are no
reasons or excuses that will
ever justify killing innocent
people."
Police began receiving calls
about 10:39 a.m. local time with
multiple reports of a shooting
at Walmart and the nearby Cielo
Vista Mall complex on the east
side of the city.
Sergeant Robert Gomez of the El
Paso Police Department said the
shooting occurred at Walmart,
where there were more than 1,000
shoppers and 100 employees. Many
families were taking advantage
of a sales-tax holiday to shop
for back-to-school supplies,
officials said.
"This is unprecedented in El
Paso," Gomez said of the mass
shooting.
Gomez said an assault-style
rifle was used in the shooting.
El Paso, a city of about 680,000
people in western Texas, shares
the border with Juarez, Mexico.
Updated information on the
shootings can be found at Voice of
America site here*.
--------------------------
Do you believe the shooters were
motivated by racism against
Hispanic immigrants? We
would like to know your thoughts
on this story. Send your
comments to news@amcostarica.com
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