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Walmart plans to reopen the El Paso store where 22 people were killed in a mass shot This month, the retail giant said Thursday, but everything inside the building will be rebuilt first.
The renovated store will include a permanent memorial honoring the victims of the shooting, many of whom were Latino, and recognizing the "binational relationship between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez" just across the Mexican border, said the door of Walmart, Randy Hargrove. The project is expected to last three to four months.
Hargrove said almost all of El Paso's 400 employees had been reassigned to nearby locations. The Arkansas-based company believes the reopening of the store is "an important step in healing this tragedy."
"Nothing will erase the pain of August 3 and we hope that the reopening of the store will be another testament to the strength and resilience that characterized the community of El Paso as a result of this tragedy," he said. Hargrove.
A spokesman for Walmart said in a statement that the company would share more details about the reopening in the coming weeks.
The authorities took more than 10 days to complete the processing of evidence in the store before making control of the property at Walmart. Flowers, crosses and handwritten messages now adorn an improvised memorial in front of one of the store's entrances. Hundreds of residents came to the scene after the shooting, where social workers distribute bottled water and offer counseling services.
Many buyers from Ciudad Juarez went there because it is the nearest Walmart to the four border bridges that link El Paso. Of those killed in the shootings, eight were Mexican citizens and the vast majority were Hispanic.
Police said the armed suspect, Patrick Crusius, admitted to targeting the Mexicans in the attack. They also stated that the alleged gunman was probably the author of an anti-Latino screed issued shortly before the shooting. He criticized the miscegenation and called the Hispanic "invaders".
Crusius has been under surveillance in an El Paso prison since August 7, according to El Paso County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Chris Acosta. Crusius was separated from other inmates, Acosta said Wednesday.
In the days following the shooting, Hargrove announced that the company is currently reviewing the security protocols. Walmart launched computerized active training in 2015 and has since increased the frequency of its instructions and added a component of virtual reality.
The El Paso City Council has studied the possibility of requiring armed security guards for department stores and some additional security features at the entrance of the stores.
"People do not pick it up at Walmart in particular, but they always recruit officers on leave, and then for whatever reason, it's gone," said Police Chief Greg Allen. to members of the City Council at an information meeting on August 8th. .
A police spokesman declined to elaborate on the chief's comments and asked Walmart questions.
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