Father shot in El Paso Walmart massacre dies after nine months in hospital: Soccer coach who was fundraising when white man targeting Mexicans gunned him down becomes rd fatality
- A man shot in the August 3 attack targeting Latinos in an El Paso Walmart died after nine months in the hospital, raising the death toll from the attack to
- Guillermo ‘Memo’ Garcia, 310, died at the Del Sol Medical Center
- Garcia and his wife Jessica Coca Garcia were fundraising for their daughter´s soccer team in the Walmart parking lot when the suspected gunman opened fire
- The suspect, – year-old Patrick Crusius, remains in the same jail awaiting trial
- State prosecutor s have charged him with murder and are pursuing the death penalty, and federal prosecutors charged him with hate crimes
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By
James Gordon For Dailymail.com
Published: : (BST,) (April) : : (BST,) (April) The death toll from a mass shooting last August at an El Paso, Texas , Walmart store has climbed to 35 after the last victim left hospitalized from the rampage succumbed to his injuries over the weekend, the hospital said on Sunday.
‘After a nearly nine-month fight, our hearts are heavy as we report Guillermo ‘Memo’ Garcia, our last remaining patient being treated from the El Paso shooting, has passed away, ‘David Shimp, chief executive of Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso, said i na statement.
‘His courage, his strength and his story have touched many lives, including those of our caregivers, who tirelessly fought with him and for him every step of the way, ‘Shrimp said. ‘We are grieving with his family and with our community.’ Garcia, , was a youth soccer coach. He and his wife Jessica Coca Garcia were fundraising for their daughter’s soccer team in the Walmart parking lot on the morning of August 3, , when the suspected gunman opened fire that Saturday morning using an AK – (rifle.
Guillermo ‘Memo’ Garcia died in hospital on Sunday, nine months after the El Paso shooting
Jessica Coca Garcia stands in front of her wheelchair addressing those gathered at the League of United Latin American Citizens ” March for a United America ‘in El Paso, Texas a week after the shooting. Her husband passed away on Sunday
Prosecutors say the massacre was an anti-Hispanic hate crime.
Garcia is survived by his wife, who suffered leg wounds but recovered. A week after the shooting, she rose from her wheelchair to give a speech across the road from the county jail where the suspected shooter was being held.
‘Racism is something I always wanted to think did exist. Obviously, it does, ‘she said at the time.
Garcia had remained hospitalized since the shooting, undergoing several surgeries and spending almost nine months in intensive care before he died on Saturday night. He is survived by his wife and two children.
About four dozen people were struck by gunfire, and were killed outright. Two more victims died of their wounds two days later. Alleged El Paso Walmart mass shooter Patrick Crusius remains jailed and is awaiting trial
Shooting suspect Patrick Crusius, was charged with capital murder for a mass shooting at the Walmart store in El Paso (The The accused gunman, – year-old Patrick Crusius, who police said drove hours from his hometown in the Dallas suburb of Allen , Texas, to commit the slayings, remains in custody charged with capital murder and federal hate crimes. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
Police said they arrested Crusius near the shooting after he surrendered to officers, telling them he was targeting ‘ Mexicans. ‘ They also attributed to him a four-page racist screed that decried a Hispanic ‘invasion’ of Texas and the US, and called for ethnic and racial segregation.
The shooting was the largest terrorist attack targeting Hispanics in modern history, and spread fear throughout the Latino community.
In the wake of the attack El Paso police said the Walmart had previously hired armed off-duty police officers to guard larger stores, but removed them at some point.
Guillermo ‘Memo’ Garcia and his wife Jessica Coca Garcia were fundraising for their daughter´s soccer team in the Walmart parking lot when the suspected gunman opened fire
Gloria Garces kneels in front of crosses at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a mass shooting at a shopping complex in El Paso, Texas last August
The store where the shooting took place reopened in November.
The Garcia family joined a number of victims who sued the Walmart over lack of security when about 3, 01 people were in the store. The lawsuit is ongoing.
The assault in the Texas border city was followed just hours later by a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio , where a gunman killed nine people and wounded 27 others before he was shot dead by police.
The back-to-back massacres sparked a political outcry, with El Paso native and then-Democratic Party presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke demanding the mandatory confiscation of the assault-style rifles often used in mass shootings.
The El Paso shooting also prompted leading Texas Republicans including Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick to retreat somewhat on their staunch defense of gun rights.
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