One killed, 3 injured in shooting at El Paso mall; 2 suspects arrested

One person was killed and three others wounded in a shooting Wednesday evening at a mall in El Paso, Texas, authorities said, and two male suspects have been arrested. 

The shooting was reported at 5:05 p.m. local time at the Cielo Vista Mall, Interim El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas said in a late Wednesday night news conference. 

Within three minutes of the shooting, off-duty officers who were working security in the mall had responded, and one of those off-duty officers took a suspect into custody, Pacillas disclosed. 

“We had off-duty officers working at the local establishment within the mall, and were on scene at 5:08 p.m., within three minutes,” Pacillas said, adding that the off-duty officer arrested the suspect without firing a weapon.  

One victim was pronounced dead at the scene, and three others were taken to local hospitals, police said. There was no immediate word on their conditions. All four victims were males, Pacillas said. 

The police chief did not provide details on how the second suspect was arrested, and no names, ages or descriptions of the victims or suspects were immediately released. 

“There is no more danger to the public,” Pacillas said of the situation.  

El Paso police Sgt. Robert Gomez told reporters in an earlier briefing that the investigation indicated the shooting occurred “in the approximate area of the food court, but that was not confirmed.”

There was no word yet on a motive. 

Multiple agencies responded to the shooting, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Border Patrol and the FBI. 

The FBI was assisting El Paso police with the investigation, Pacillas said. Jeffrey Downey, special agent in charge of the FBI El Paso Field Office, praised the off-duty officer who arrested the first suspect. 

“A great deal of credit needs to go out to the off-duty officer that was at the mall this evening, and was able to get one of these individuals in custody in a very quick amount of time,” Downey said. 

Pacillas said the mall would remain “locked down” until authorities finish their initial investigation. 

The shooting comes exactly a week after the 24-year-old gunman in the 2019 mass shooting at a nearby Walmart — in which 23 people were killed by a man deliberately targeting Hispanic people — pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and firearms charges. That Walmart is located across the street from the Cielo Vista Mall.   

The gunman, Patrick Crusius, agreed as part of a plea deal to accept 90 consecutive life sentences, one for each count in the indictment.