Houston Chronicle by Rachel Chason, Annette Nevins, Annie Gowen and Hailey Fuchs Aug. 9, 2019
ALLEN, Texas - Patrick Crusius watched the sprawling north suburbs of Dallas where he grew up dramatically change over the course of his short life. The number of Hispanic residents soared, while the non-Hispanic white population plummeted from nearly 80 percent to just more than half. Diversity flourished across Collin County, in its restaurants, shops, neighborhoods and in the public schools, where one high school welcomed both a new black student union and a prayer center for Muslims and others.
Authorities think Crusius, 21, closely noted the shift and spent countless hours on the Internet studying the white supremacist theory known as "the great replacement." And then, after hanging out with family members late last week, he jumped in his car with his newly purchased assault-style rifle and made the 10-hour drive to El Paso, where, authorities say, he fatally shot 22 people and injured dozens at a shopping center on Saturday near the Mexican border to stop "the Hispanic invasion of Texas," according to a statement police think he posted online shortly before the attack.
On Friday, police said in an affidavit for an arrest warrant that Crusius was clear about his intent. In the affidavit, which was obtained by The Washington Post, he told detectives that he shot multiple innocent victims and that he had been targeting "Mexicans."
Crusius surrendered after the shootings when police encountered his car at a nearby intersection. El Paso police Detective Adrian Garcia wrote that Crusius got out of the car with his hands in the air and declared: "I'm the shooter."
That Crusius apparently was quietly but thoroughly indoctrinated into racist theories on websites such as 8chan, where police think he posted a missive attempting to explain his hatred, came as a complete shock to his family members back in Collin County, according to Chris Ayres, a lawyer who represents the family. He was with his twin sister, Emily, just two nights before the shooting, and he did not betray anything unusual going on in his life, Ayres said. His grandparents, with whom he lived until about six weeks ago as he attended Collin College, said they always welcomed him in their home and never had a problem with him.
"This all came out of left field," Ayres said, adding that Crusius would occasionally chat about history and current events but that no one thought his opinions were unusual. "There weren't hot political opinions flying back and forth or anything."
Crusius' parents - Bryan, a therapist, and Lori, a hospice admissions nurse - said in a statement this week that they are devastated, believing their son's actions "were apparently influenced and informed by people we do not know, and from ideas and beliefs that we do not accept or condone, in any way. He was raised in a family that taught love, kindness, respect, and tolerance - rejecting all forms of racism, prejudice, hatred, and violence."
Lori Crusius called police several weeks ago when she realized her son was in the process of obtaining an assault-style rifle, Ayres said, noting that her call was simply "informational." She wanted to find out if he could legally have one, which he could.
Ayres said that there was no indication of why he wanted the gun - Crusius occasionally went to a gun range with his father - and that his mother had "absolutely zero concern about any violence or imminent threat."
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/El-Paso-suspect-said-he-was-targeting-Mexicans-14293663.php
