LULAC Analysis: Biden Administration Must Act In 2019 Walmart Shooter Case

Nation's Oldest & Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Says Attack in Buffalo, NY This Weekend Is a Carbon Copy of El Paso, Three Years Later

Washington, DC - The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) today expressed condolences for Buffalo, New York victims. It issued a strongly worded statement demanding action and justice from the Biden Administration in the mass killing inside a Walmart store in El Paso in August 2019. The Texas massacre is the deadliest attack targeting Latinos in U.S. history and claimed the lives of 23 people, with another two-dozen victims wounded. The confessed shooter told police he traveled ten hours to the border community from Allen, Texas, to kill Mexicans he claimed were invading the United States. Investigators revealed the 21-year-old suspect was armed with a semi-automatic weapon when he attacked shoppers in the parking lot and up and down store aisles, reloading as he went. The suspect pleaded not guilty to state capital murder charges, and the U.S. Department of Justice has not issued a decision on whether to seek the federal death penalty. He faces more than 90 federal charges.

Domingo Garcia – LULAC National President
"LULAC expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the ten people killed and those wounded in this weekend's attack inside a Buffalo, New York grocery store. We understand the pain, anger, and absolute shock the nation is feeling because this is a carbon copy of the cowardly mass shooting of innocent Latino men and women in El Paso, now going on three years ago. We are outraged and fed up with the hate speech, fearmongering, and scapegoating of the 'other' by right-wing Republican politicians, radio talk show hosts, and TV networks FOX, OANN and NEWSMAX. Their hate speech creates monsters like the ones we have seen shoot innocent people because of their race or religion! Good Americans everywhere must rise up and say, 'Ya Basta,' enough is enough. Stop using politics to divide Americans and stop working for Nazi, KKK, or Russian interests. LULAC urges President Biden to convene a summit to confront the threat of extremism and domestic terrorism. We must unite against the hate and instead support the brotherly love of all our neighbors."

Ralina Cardona – LULAC National Board Member and Vice-President for the Northeast
"My heart is moved to apologize to the victims and families of this latest shooting in Buffalo, New York. We are all to blame. This is not the first mass shooting going on for years. Yet, we as a country have not stepped up to fix this! Racism, mental health disorders, and guns are running rampant in our communities. They make up the formula for these tragedies from South Carolina to Orlando, Florida. Also, Sandy Hook, El Paso, the Tree of Life in Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. Sadly, there are so many more mass shootings most of us cannot recall or name them all. This is a pandemic of hate for which there is no vaccine yet. We need legislation to support mental health, gun reform, and stricter laws to combat all forms of racism. Voting matters! If you are satisfied with what is going on in the country that you live in, do nothing. However, if you, like me, are fed up, frustrated, and disgusted with what is going on, make sure your voice is heard. Please make sure the right people are protecting us."

Aureo Cardona – LULAC New York State Director
"I am heartbroken and deeply troubled by the killing of these ten innocent men and women for whom we grieve. At the same time, their deaths leave us asking, how far will some stoop in their bigotry and hatred? I call upon our elected state and federal leaders to make this the moment for action in unity against the insanity of violence with the use of firearms. The victims felled in Buffalo were neither Republicans nor Democrats. They were Americans, and their blood demands non-partisan and resolute justice so that others are not encouraged to commit similar attacks on unarmed civilians without fear of retribution."

###

About LULAC
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit https://lulac.org/