The suspect in the killing of at least 20 people in El Paso posted an online manifesto before starting on the deadly rampage that was described by Texas law enforcement and political leaders as hate- filled and racist.
Media reports have identified 21- year- old Patrick Crusius of Allen, Texas, as the suspect in the shooting Saturday at a Walmart in the border city.
Although authorities did not publicly confirm his identify or describe the precise contents of the manifesto, a document posted on the website 8chan about an hour- and- a- half before the rampage spoke about the "invasion " of Latino immigrants and said the writer agreed with the shooter who killed worshipers at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand.
That document was posted by an anonymous user who posted another document under the file name "P._Crusius." That file was taken down, and it is not clear what it contained.
A Twitter account that appeared to belong to Crusius was shut down Saturday evening. Tweets on the account had praised President Trump and, in particular, his effort to build a wall along the U.S- Mexico border.
Television coverage showed police swarming a house identified as that of Crusius in Allen, a mostly white suburb of Dallas about 650 miles east of El Paso.
Local media reported that Crusius briefly attended Liberty High School and went on to graduate from Plano Senior High School. In 2017, he started to attend Collin College, a community college in McKinney, Texas, according to a statement released by the college.
Leigh Ann Locascio, a former neighbor, said Crusius was an extreme loner who always sat alone on the bus in junior high and high school. He spoke negatively of other kids who played sports or joined the school band, she said.
She described Crusius as "very much a loner, very stand- offish " and someone who "didn 't interact a whole lot with anyone."
Her son, Tony Locascio, walked to school regularly with Crusius and his sister. Tony Locascio said Patrick Crusius only walked ahead or behind them, never interacting and always keeping to himself.
He liked animals and kept pet snakes. "He wouldn 't talk to people. No one really knew him, " Tony Locascio said.
Daniel Heo of Plano, Texas, told The Times that he attended elementary school with Crusius and remembers playing basketball and soccer with him during recess. They attended kindergarten together at Beverly Elementary School in Plano, another Dallas suburb, according to Heo, 20.
Heo said he fell out of touch with Crusius after elementary school. It wasn 't until Saturday, when he received a text message from his friend about the shooting and how Crusius was a suspect, that Heo remembered him.
"I 'm shocked. I remember him being a nice kid, " Heo said.
