El Paso Walmart shooter to plead guilty in racist 2019 massacre
Patrick Crusius will plead guilty to shooting and killing 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in August 2019, according to a new court filing.
Crusius asked the court for a rearraignment hearing after federal prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table.
"Defendant notifies the Court of his intention to enter a plea of guilty to the pending Indictment," the filing said.
Federal prosecutors investigated the shooting as both domestic terrorism and a hate crime because Crusius allegedly targeted Hispanics.
He allegedly told investigators he chose the store near the U.S.-Mexico border because it was frequented by Hispanic shoppers.
Crusius was indicted on 90 charges by federal prosecutors in 2019, including 22 counts of committing a hate crime resulting in death, 22 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder, 23 counts of a hate crime involving an attempt to kill and 23 counts of use of a firearm during a crime. While 22 people died on the day of the shooting or in the next two days, a 23rd person died eight months later.
There were also 23 people injured in the attack.
The 21-year-old Crusius allegedly cased the Walmart unarmed before re-entering with protective ear muffs, safety glasses and an AR-15-style assault rifle. He opened fire indiscriminately even before walking into the store.
Investigators believe Crusius posted a four-page racist, anti-immigrant document on the website 8chan before launching the attack, officials said.
ABC News' Bill Hutchinson and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
