Mexican official says El Paso shooting should be classified as terrorism

A top Mexican official said Wednesday a mass shooting earlier this month that killed 22 people in El Paso, Texas, should be classified as terrorism. 

“It’s very important to persevere, to specify, clarify and demand that measures are taken so that this is not repeated, and the first measure is to classify it for what it is: an act of terrorism that seeks to take Mexican lives,” Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said at a press conference, Reuters reported.

Ebrard mentioned the anti-immigrant manifesto that the shooter allegedly posted to the website 8chan as having been posted to the shooter’s “network.”

“There will be those who say, ‘No, no, no, this isn’t terrorism, it’s just one person,’” he said. “Well, it needs to be said that the man who carried out this despicable, abominable and appalling act is part of a network, but he also uploaded a manifesto to the network.” {mosads}

In the manifesto, suspected shooter Patrick Crusius allegedly warned of a “Hispanic invasion.” He also reportedly told police he was going after “Mexicans.”

On Tuesday, U.S. and Mexican officials met to discuss the incident. 

According to Reuters, the Mexican government has said it might request that the suspected shooter be sent to Mexico for trial, which Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also said at a Wednesday event.  

“We’re going to ask for this person be judged here, too. We’re going to ask for his extradition, and the full weight of the law will be felt,” he said. “We don’t want this to happen again, we don’t want these hate crimes.”