Suspected El Paso Walmart shooter pleads guilty

• He further admitted that he intended to kill everyone he shot.

What they're saying: “Today, the Justice Department secured the guilty plea of Patrick Wood Crusius, a self-described white nationalist, for federal hate crime and firearms offenses in connection with the deadly mass shooting targeting people perceived to be Hispanic immigrants at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in 2019,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement.

• “White nationalist-fueled violence has no place in our society today,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

The big picture: Federal prosecutors announced in January that they would not seek the death penalty against Crusius.

• Crusius' attorney soon after filed a motion asking for a new arraignment, indicating that the suspect would change his plea from not guilty to guilty.
• Crusius posted a racist screed online shortly before the shooting, according to prosecutors.

What to watch: Crusius' trial in state court on capital murder charges has not been set. State prosecutors in El Paso say they still intend to seek the death penalty.

• Crusius has pleaded not guilty to the state charges.

Context: Within the roughly first few weeks of 2023, there were more mass shootings in the U.S. than days, per research group the Gun Violence Archive.

• The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as a situation in which at least four people are shot and either injured or killed, not including the shooter.
• There were 647 mass shootings in 2022 and another 690 in 2021, data from the research group shows.

Go deeper: 1 in 5 Americans have experience with gun violence: Poll