The mother of the 21-year-old El Paso shooter, Patrick Crusius, called the police in Allen, Texas weeks before the shooting and expressed her concern that her son possessed an AK 47-style assault rifle, according to a CNN report on Thursday.
The family's lawyer, Chris Ayres, said that the mother had "absolutely no fear of violence nor any belief of an intent to do harm" but was simply seeking information about the safety of her son owning the gun in light of his age and his lack of experience with guns. Ayres added that Crusius did not identify herself or her son when she called and the police department didn't follow up on the call.
"This was not a volatile, explosive, erratic behaving kid," said Chris Ayres. "It's not like alarm bells were going off."
The police department transferred the mother to a public safety officer who told the mother, that from her description, her son was legally entitled to purchase the rifle.
Crusius killed 22 people and wounded 26 on Saturday after driving ten hours from his home in Allen to the city of El Paso, located on the Mexico-US border. Crucius, an alleged white supremacist, told investigators after the shooting: "I wanted to shoot as many Mexicans as possible."
Crusius is being held without bond and is being charged with capital murder. He may be charged with committing a hate crime as well. El Paso County District Attorney Jaime Esparza said that her office will seek the death penalty.
Crusius' family published a statement in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, saying that their son's deadly actions and racist opinions were unacceptable to them.
"Patrick's actions were apparently influenced and informed by people we do not know, and from ideas and beliefs we do not accept or condone," the family's statement said. "He was raised in a family that taught love, kindness, respect, and tolerance — rejecting all forms of racism, prejudice, hatred, and violence."