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Twenty people were killed and 26 injured during a shooting in El Paso, Texas.
Governor Greg Abbott described it as "one of the deadliest days in Texas history."
The mbadacre took place at a Walmart store near the Cielo Vista shopping mall, a few miles from the US-Mexico border.
A 21 year old man is in custody. Police said the suspect was a resident of the city of Allen located in the Dallas area, about 1,046 km east of El Paso.
He was named by the American media under the name of Patrick Crusius.
CCTV footage believed to come from the shooter and broadcast in the US media show a man dressed in a dark t-shirt wearing ear protectors and wielding an badault rifle.
Copyright AFP image
Image caption Shooter video surveillance images emerged
The shooting in Texas is thought to be the eighth deadliest in modern American history.
It took place less than 24 hours before another mbad shot in Dayton, Ohio, and less than a week after an armed teenager killed three people at one time. California food festival.
US President Donald Trump describes the attack as "an act of cowardice".
"I know that I stand with everyone in this country to condemn the heinous act of today, no reason or excuse will ever justify killing innocent people," he said. he writes on Twitter.
The victims of the attack have not yet been named. However, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said three Mexicans were among the victims, the Reuters news agency reported.
"As a state, we come together to support these victims and their families," said Abbott.
"We must do one thing today, one thing tomorrow and every day after that: we must unite."
The police and the FBI are investigating whether an unnamed blank "nationalist" manifesto, shared on an online forum, was written by the shooter. The document indicates that the attack was targeting the local Hispanic community.
What happened?
El Paso police chief, Greg Allen, said information about an active shooter would have been received at 10:39 am local time (1639 GMT), and that law enforcement officers would be on the scene in the six minutes.
At the time of the attack, the Walmart was filled with back-to-school supplies buyers.
Aged 21, he is the only suspect in detention after the attack. Police say that no policeman fired with a firearm during his arrest.
Allen said the age of the victims was "many", describing the situation as "horrible".
The El Paso Police Department had previously tweeted that donations of blood were "urgently needed".
Kianna Long said that she was at Walmart with her husband when they heard gunshots.
"People were panicking and running saying that there was a shooter," Ms. Long told the Reuters news agency. "They ran near the ground, people dropped to the ground."
Ms. Long stated that she and her husband had traveled on a reserve before going to the shelter with other clients.
Copyright of the EPA image
Image captionKianna Long, right, talked about panic at Walmart
Another witness, Glendon Oakly, told CNN that he was in a sporting goods store inside the nearby mall when a child ran to the house. "telling us that there is an active shooter in Walmart".
Mr. Oakly said that no one took the child's request seriously, but a few minutes later he had heard two shots.
"I just thought about getting the kids away," he said.
Copyright of the image author
Image captionThe shocked buyers were taken out of the area with their hands up.
What was the broader reaction?
The latest mbad fire in the United States sparked a wave of sympathy, but also led to new appeals for gun control.
Walmart tweeted that he was "shocked by the tragic events" and "worked closely with the forces of order".
Previously, he had spoken at a union forum to tell the crowd that the shooting had ended any idea that gun reform "would come on its own" in the United States.
"We know that there is a lot of injury and suffering in El Paso right now," he said.
Media captionAfter the Las Vegas attack in October 2017, the BBC has focused on worsening mbad shootings in the United States
Other Democratic presidential candidates have also responded to the call by calling for gun control.
The New Jersey senator, Cory Booker, was among them, saying that the United States seemed to "accept the idea that these [shootings] are going to be a regular occurrence. "
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, however, said that gun control would probably not have ended the attack.
He added that if a "crazy" armed man launched such an attack, there would be no way for law enforcement officers to be there to arrest him.
"The best way is to be ready to defend yourself," he told CBS News.
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