LGBT rights activists have condemned a
mass shooting in El Paso, Texas that left at least 20 people dead and
wounded many others.
According to various reports, the
shooting took place around 10 a.m. on Saturday at a Walmart near
Cielo Vista Mall.
Police said that they have one suspect,
a 21-year-old man from Dallas, in custody. He reportedly wrote a
4-page manifesto that includes anti-immigrant statements. El Paso is
on the border with Mexico. At least three Mexican citizens were
killed in the incident, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
said on Twitter.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, said that it was “heartbroken”
over the incident.
“We are heartbroken over the innocent
lives taken today,” HRC Vice President for Policy and Political
Affairs JoDee Wintgerhof said in a statement. “The horrific
violence in El Paso has become all too common in our country.”
In a tweet, President Donald Trump
called the shooting “tragic.” “There are no reasons or excuses
that will ever justify killing innocent people,” he added.
During a television interview,
Democratic presidential candidate and El Paso native Beto O'Rouke
said that Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric played a role in Saturday's
tragedy.
“He is a racist and he stokes racism
in this country. And it does not just offend our sensibility, it
fundamentally changes the character of this country and it leads to
violence,” O'Rouke told El Paso Fox affiliate KFOX.
HRC also renewed its calls for greater
gun control laws.