Castro: El Paso killer wanted to ‘kill people who look like me’

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro said Thursday at the Democratic debate that the El Paso shooter wanted to kill people who looked like him, referring to Latinx Americans. 

“Someone drove ten hours to kill people who look like me and my family,” Castro told the audience in Houston. 

{mosads}He continued, “White supremacy is a growing threat and we have to root it out.” 

Castro went on to tout his police reform plan, which would set new standards on police conduct, increase transparency and accountability in police departments, seek to end over-policing and address violence and harassment against minority citizens.

Julián Castro: “A few weeks ago, a shooter drove ten hours, inspired by this president, to kill people who look like me…White supremacy is a growing threat to this country, and we have to root it out.” https://t.co/qr6gtrNAcp #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/E7eE3taJFC

— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) September 13, 2019

Twenty-two people were killed and 26 wounded in a shooting at an El Paso Walmart last month. 

The shooter allegedly told police he was targeting “Mexicans” in the attack. 

The shooting, along with a shooting in Dayton, Ohio, the next day revived gun control talks in Washington and across the country. 

Castro’s fellow 2020 contender, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), has been one of the most vocal voices for gun control in the days after the El Paso shooting. 

O’Rourke tied the El Paso shooting back to an increase in racist rhetoric, tying it back to President Trump. 

“We have a white supremacist in the White House and he poses a mortal threat to people of color all across this country,” he said.