EL PASO, Texas ? The bodies still lay in the aisles of Walmart. Police officials in this border city had yet to release the 20 victims? names, adding them to the long list of mass-shooting casualties in this gun-rich country. Only 12 hours and 35 minutes had elapsed.
And then, another gunman opened fire on another crowd in another U.S. city, leaving another set of grief-stricken loved ones. On Saturday, it was El Paso: 20 dead, 26 injured. On Sunday it was Dayton, Ohio: 9 dead, 27 injured.
As is so often the case, the suspects were twenty-something white men, their weapons, assault-style rifles. As is also too often the case, blame flew in all directions: Easily accessible guns. A mental health crisis. White nationalists spreading hatred. A president who rallies supporters with racist rants. A 24/7 digital culture run amok.
And another mayor joined an increasingly crowded club.
?Honestly, and I have to say unfortunately, because we have had so many of these incidences, there is a bevy of mayors who are able to give great advice and feedback,? Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said during a Sunday afternoon briefing. ?I think that?s quite frankly a little sad, if you think about it, that they?ve learned so much because all of their communities have gone through these terrible mass shootings.?
She called the deaths in her city ?completely preventable,? in an earlier phone interview with NBC?s ?Meet the Press.? ?We?re city No. 250,? she said. ?How many more cities have to go through mass shootings before somebody does something to change the law??
Although authorities still have not formally identified the suspect in the El Paso Walmart shooting, his name has been widely reported as Patrick Crusius, 21, from the Dallas suburb of Allen, Texas. El Paso jail records show a Patrick Wood Crusius was booked Sunday on state charges of capital murder.
And on Sunday, FBI agents served search warrants at three Dallas-area locations, Special Agent Jeanette Harper, a spokeswoman for the agency?s El Paso Division, said at a Sunday evening briefing.
Authorities have tentatively linked Crusius to a manifesto posted online shortly before the shooting that railed against an ?invasion? of Latino migrants, particularly in Texas.
Federal prosecutors are investigating the El Paso shooting as a hate crime and an act of domestic terrorism and plan to seek the death penalty, according to John Bash, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas.
?We?re going to do what we do to terrorists in this country ? deliver swift and certain justice,? Bash said at a briefing in El Paso early Sunday.
By late Sunday, officials had yet to release a list of the shooting victims. Social media bubbled with GoFundMe requests. There were posts beseeching anyone with information about their loved ones to get in touch. And sometimes there was bad news.
On Facebook Saturday afternoon, Vielka Yu pleaded for information about her grandparents, who had been shopping at Walmart and the nearby Cielo Vista Mall when the shooting broke out. About 24 hours later, came the update:
?Ya recibimos noticias, lamentablemente malas … mis abuelos fallecieron, acaban de confirmer.?
(We have received the news, unfortunately bad … my grandparents passed away, they just confirmed.)
The morning after the shooting, St. Pius X Catholic Church was packed. At least one of the families affected by the tragedy belongs to the parish. Early morning sun streamed through a stain-glassed window. Outside, two friars sat quietly.
