This archive report was first published on 4 August 2019.
On Sunday, residents of El Paso, Texas, awoke to the aftermath of a devastating massacre at a crowded Walmart store, where a gunman opened fire, killing at least 20 people and injuring 26 others.
Published on August 4, 2019, the attack has raised tensions in a predominantly Latino city that was already on edge over the federal government's targeting of migrant families.
As officials investigated whether the suspect, a white man in his 20s from Allen, Texas, was linked to a racist manifesto railing against immigration and the growing Hispanic population in Texas, businesses closed around the city, sports events were canceled, and congregants gathered for vigils.
At a vigil held at St. Pius X church on Saturday night, Celina Arias, a 44-year-old schoolteacher, said, 'Any of us could be dead right now — that's how close it feels.'
The Walmart store, located less than 10 minutes' drive from the Bridge of the Americas linking El Paso and its sister city in Mexico, Ciudad Juárez, is a regular destination for Mexican tourists who come to the city to shop and visit family.
Rosa María Silva, 42, and Ivonne Moreno, also 42, both church employees in Ciudad Juárez, were on their way to shop at the Walmart on Saturday morning when they found their way blocked by police cars and ambulances.
Ms. Silva said, 'We weren't in there through a miracle of God.'
Ms. Moreno's mother, who lives in El Paso, drove them to her house, and the three of them spent the rest of the day hunkered down, afraid to go out.
As dusk fell, the pair ventured out to buy some snacks and head back over the bridge.
Ms. Silva said, 'It's sad that there are people who discriminate so much. But we aren't going to judge everybody because of one person.'
Karen Peña, 19, who lives in El Paso and was crossing the bridge to visit her mother in Ciudad Juárez, saw a broader threat to the shooting, saying, 'I think it's because of the migrants. It's a warning to scare them off.'
