EL PASO (Texas, US), Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump has visited emergency workers in El Paso, Texas – one of two cities shaken by mass shootings that took 31 lives.
Hispanic people were targeted in an apparent hate crime when a gunman in El Paso shot dead 22 people on Saturday.
Trump himself has been accused of stoking hatred against Hispanic people.
Trump and his wife Melania came to Texas from Dayton, Ohio, where he had visited a hospital to meet survivors of a shooting in which nine people died.
The El Paso shooting is being treated as a possible hate crime. Much of the city identifies as Hispanic and the suspect is thought to be the author of a text posted online which said “this attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas”.
The text echoed some of the US president’s language, with Trump having frequently used the term “invasion” to describe the situation on the US-Mexico border.
Police have still to establish a conclusive motive for the Dayton attack but say they have uncovered evidence “that the shooter was exploring violent ideologies”.
The shooting happened in a part of the city popular for its nightlife in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The Trumps then went on to Dayton’s Miami Valley Hospital to meet survivors, emergency workers and staff.
“You had God watching,” the president told survivors and families. “I want you to know we’re with you all the way.”
Outside the hospital, protesters flew a “baby Trump” balloon and held signs reading “Do Something”, “Save our city” and “You are why”.
On Saturday morning, at 10:39 local time, a gunman opened fire in a crowded Walmart in El Paso, killing 22 people and injuring 24 more.
A suspect, named by US media as Patrick Crusius, was arrested at the scene shortly after.
The 21-year old has been charged with capital murder, meaning he could face the death penalty.
In Dayton, police killed the gunman, 24-year-old Connor Betts, within 30 seconds of him opening fire at 01:07 local time on Sunday.
Among the dead was Betts’s sister, Megan. CCTV footage showed the two drinking together at a nearby bar a couple of hours before the shooting began. — NNN-AGENCIES