Accused El Paso shooter indicted by grand jury

The man accused of committing the El Paso shooting last month was indicted by a grand jury Thursday and could face the death penalty.

An El Paso grand jury indicted Patrick Crusius, 21, with a charge of capital murder for the shooting at a Walmart on Aug. 3, the El Paso Times reported.

“Capital Murder is the highest charge in the State of Texas and is punishable by death or life imprisonment without parole if found guilty,” district attorney officials said in a news release obtained by the El Paso Times.{mosads}

District Attorney Jaime Esparza has said she will seek the death penalty in Crusius’s case.

Esparza told KVIA that a death penalty trial could cost $5 million, last months and call for hundreds of witnesses.

Federal authorities are treating the case of the shooting that killed 22 people and injured 26 others as domestic terrorism and are seeking federal hate crime and firearm charges.

Crusius allegedly told police he was targeting “Mexicans” in the shooting.

Crusius will remain in Downtown El Paso County Jail without bond, according to the El Paso Times. He had reportedly been placed on suicide watch in August.

The El Paso shooting, along with a shooting in Dayton, Ohio, that occurred the next day, revived gun reform talks in Congress, and the president and lawmakers are negotiating potential new legislation.