Shooter who killed 23 in racist attack in Texas agrees to pay $5M in restitution

HOUSTON, United States

The gunman who killed 23 people in a racially motivated attack at a Walmart store in the US state of Texas four years ago agreed on Monday to pay $5 million to the victims' families, according to multiple media outlets.

Patrick Crusius, 25, pleaded guilty to federal charges earlier this year in a deal with prosecutors that took the death penalty off the table. He is serving 90 consecutive life sentences for carrying out the deadliest attack against Latinos in US history.

The judge signed off on the amount of restitution Crusius must pay, as he now awaits a state trial which could result in the death penalty, if convicted.

Crusius, who was 21 at the time of the deadly shooting on Aug. 3, 2019, drove nearly 700 miles (1126 kilometers) from Dallas to the El Paso Walmart with the sole intention of killing Latinos and immigrants.

Before carrying out the shooting rampage, Crusius professed his xenophobic and white supremacist beliefs in an online post warning of a Hispanic "invasion" of Texas.

A date for Crusius' state trial has not yet been scheduled.