SPLC Statement on Shooting in El Paso, Texas

Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project Director Heidi Beirich issued the following statement regarding the mass shooting today in El Paso, Texas:

“The tragedy in El Paso today has become a scene so common that it's no longer a question of if it can be tied to racially motivated hate, but how and when it can be tied to racially motivated hate.

“Reports say that at least 20 people are dead and 40 are injured. Much like the shooting last weekend at a festival in Gilroy, California that took the lives of three people, the rush is now on to find a motive for this brutal attack.

“Various outlets are reporting on a four page manifesto that contains white nationalist talking points on ‘demographic displacement,’ ‘white genocide’ and ‘illegal immigration,' and references the anti-Muslim mass shooting in New Zealand earlier this year. 

“Our hearts go out to the families of the victims and everyone who is affected by this terrible tragedy.”