Last Updated Aug 10, 2019 7:45 PM EDT
El Paso — At a big rally in El Paso on Saturday, Latino leaders demanded the Texas legislature take up a ban on assault weapons. The city continues to struggle with the horrific shooting that killed 22 people — and the arrest warrant affidavit released Friday revealed the suspect said he targeted Mexicans.
The nation’s oldest Hispanic civil rights group, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), organized this march through the streets of El Paso on Saturday, one week after the worst attack on Latinos in recent U.S. history.
Ray Mancera is one of the organizers. CBS News was with Mancera earlier in the week as he visited some of the victims, like Jessica Garcia, who was shot several times, but told us she was staying strong.
“He might have shot me,” she said, “But he did not take my pride. He did not take anything from me. I’m fighting. And that’s what I want everybody here to do.”
The rallying of support comes even as more disturbing details emerge about the attack. According to the arrest affidavit obtained by CBS News, the suspect, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, told police he used an “AK-47” shooting “multiple innocent victims.” A detective wrote Crusius “stated his target were ‘Mexicans.'”
For the first time, some of the first responders are describing what they saw.
“The entire department, between us, every police agency, bystanders … Everybody was helping,” Paramedic Jared Knotts told CBS Dallas. “I’m sorry that this happened to this community, El Paso is a strong community. We will work together to get through this.”
Twenty-four people were injured in the attack, at last check, about half of them remain hospitalized. The city of El Paso is planning a community-wide service for the victims on Wednesday.
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