After Patrick Crusius, the El Paso Walmart mass shooter who killed 23, pleaded guilty on Monday, April 21, many of the victims' family members were able to confront him with victim impact statements. Shockingly, two of them chose to hug Crusius in the courthouse.
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As Crusius continued to hear the victim impact statements on Tuesday, April 22, Yolanda Tinajero took the microphone to deliver her statement, as per El Paso Matters. Her brother, Arturo Benavides, was murdered by Crusius in August 3, 2019, alongside 22 others, in the racist-fueled massacre in El Paso.
"I feel in my heart to hug you very tight so you could feel my forgiveness, especially my loss. But I know it's not allowed," Tinajero said. She continued by saying that, should Crusius have opened up to the Hispanic culture, Tinajero and others would have embraced him. "So, then, your ugly thoughts of us that have been instilled in you would have turned around," she added.
As she concluded and was ready to give the microphone to her daughter, Melissa, District Judge Sam Medrano asked her a question she didn't expect.
"Ma'am, would it truly bring you peace and comfort and healing to hug him?" the judge asked. Tinajero replied, "Yes." The judge then allowed her to approach Crusius to deliver the hug. Crusius was then escorted to the jury box. Tinajero embraced him as the whole courtroom began to cry, the judge included.
Second Crusius Hug
Later, Adriana Zandri, whose husband, Ivan Filiberto Manzano, was killed in the 2019 shooting, expressed her desire to do the same as Tinajero.
"Your honor, I would like to ask you for permission on behalf of myself and my children to give Patrick a hug," Zandri told the judge in Spanish.
"Ma'am, would that help you and your family seek comfort, peace, and healing?" Medrano asked. Zandri, just as Tinajero, answered affirmatively. Zandri was then embraced by Crusius with his shackled hands, as per the outlet.
One day earlier, Zandri had delivered her victim impact statement. She talked about the insurmountable loss she and her family had suffered at the hands of Crusius.
"My children have lost their hero, their prince, their column, their support and their father," Zandri said, as per the Daily Mail. "He's not going to be there to teach my daughter how to play basketball. He is not going to be present to give my daughter's hand in her wedding ceremony."
"The only thing that I wanted was for them not to grow up with hatred in their hearts," she continued. "Because the day they begin feeling hatred toward you is when their life will be over."
After embracing Zandri, Crusius was escorted out of the El Paso courtroom. He will spend the rest of his life in prison.
'A Clown In Handcuffs'
Other family members were not as forgiving as Tinajero and Zandri, understandably. Among them is Dean Reckard, son of Margie Reckard, who was killed by Patrick Crusius.
"I noticed your family isn't here. They'll probably have to hide for the rest of their lives because of the evil you brought upon their name," Dean told Crusius on Tuesday.
Previously, Hilda Reckard, Margie's daughter-in-law, also addressed Crusius.
"It is disgusting that you could not even say, or get your lawyer to say to these people that you are sorry for what the hell you did," Hilda said. "They did more for you than you did for them you (expletive). They saved your (expletive) life and you can't say you're sorry?"
Hild referenced the plea deal that Crusius accepted, which took the death penalty off the table. It was offered by District Attorney James Montoya, saying that, otherwise, the case would have lasted until 2028. He offered the deal after many of the victims' families told him they wanted to move on.
Raul Melendez, a family member of David Johnson, who also died in the shooting, called Crusius a clown in handcuffs, as per KTSM.
"What he did was cowardly," Melendez told Crusius. "You know, I never thought I'd see the day that I'd see a clown in handcuffs."
Shooting
Patrick Crusius drove 10 hours from his home in Dallas, Texas, and used his AK-style rifle to shoot 23 people outside and inside the El Paso Walmart located at 7101 Gateway West Blvd on August 3, 2019. Previously, he had posted online that the shooting was "in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas."
Following the cold-blooded murders, he was arrested in an El Paso intersection. In 2023, a federal court sentenced him to 90 consecutive life sentences. On Monday, April 21, 2025, Crusius pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated assault charges. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
