Patrick Cruisius‘ family broke their silence Monday with a statement saying they were “devastated by the events of El Paso and pray for the victims of this tragedy.”
Crusius was named as the suspect in a shooting that left 22 people dead and 24 injured at an El Paso, Texas Walmart Saturday morning. He is facing capital murder charges in Texas. The FBI is also conducting a domestic terrorism investigation, which could lead to federal hate crimes charges. As a part of the FBI investigation, agents are investigating a manifesto which was published on 8Chan shortly before the shooting. The screed, called “An Inconvenient Truth,” was filled with anti-immigration and racist rhetoric.
Crusius could face the death penalty in Texas, which prosecutors said they plan to pursue. He is being held without bail in El Paso, Texas.
His last known address was in Allen, Texas, a suburb of Dallas more than 650 miles from the shooting. His grandparents, who live at that address, made a statement Monday saying they were devastated, and asked for privacy. Crusius lived with them while he attended community college, but moved out six weeks earlier, they said.
Crusius’ dad is a mental health counselor who once advocated for a victim of gun violence.
Patrick Crusius’ parents issued a statement Tuesday condemning their son’s actions and saying he must have been influenced by people they do not know. The statement was read by their lawyer.
“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. He was raised in a family that taught love, kindness, respect, and tolerance—rejecting all forms of racism, prejudice, hatred, and violence.”
Read more about Crusius and the case here.
Here’s what you need to know about Patrick Crusius’ family:
1. Patrick Crusius’ Dad Tried to Help Gun Violence Victim
Eleven months before his son was arrested for murdering 20 people in El Paso, John Bryan Crusius started a GoFundMe page for a musician suffering the consequences of gun violence long after being shot by a stranger
Patrick Crusius’ dad, John Bryan Crusius, set up a GoFundMe in October 2018 for a musician named Eric Keyes who had been shot by a stranger. The shooter showed up at Keyes’ home, said he was a fan and shot him in the chest at close range.
“We have all had difficult trials in life; it is part of being human,” Crusius wrote on the fundraising page. “Yet sometimes an overwhelming series of traumatic events befalls a person in a short period of time and when this someone is Eric, you just do what you can to help. Eric is a big-hearted and compassionate person who could use a break from the heavy burden he is presently under. His actions profoundly reveal the depth and character that is Eric.”
He wrote Keyes was trying to work but could not handle his financial burden alone. Keyes was caring for his father, who was diagnosed with dementia, in 2012. Two months later in May 2012, a “mentally ill person” arrived at Keyes’ house in Denton, Texas. Keyes’ survived, but suffered lasting injuries that prevented him from singing and playing guitar, Crusius wrote on the page.
The page goes on to describe Keyes’ financial struggles, his mother’s dementia diagnosis and her death.
“I ask for your compassion, whether it be in prayer, a donation, or both. Thank you,” Crusius wrote.
2. Patrick Crusius’ Grandparents Are ‘Very Distraught’ & Cooperating With Investigation
Law enforcement officers are in unmarked vehicles outside a house on Kingsbury Court in Allen that public records indicate is El Paso mass shooting suspect Patrick Crusius’ last known address.
Patrick Crusius’ grandparents’ home in Allen, Texas became a target of investigation and media attention because it was listed on their grandson’s drivers license. His grandparents are Larry and Cynthia Brown. Crusius’ family declined comment until Monday, when they sent a family friend from their home to read a statement for them. The friend asked CBS DFW not to use his name.
The statement said they were “devasted” and asked for privacy. Patrick Crusius had not lived with them for six weeks when the shooting occurred, they said.
“We are devastated by the events of El Paso and pray for the victims of this tragedy,” the statement said. “Patrick Crusius is our grandson. He lived with us in our house in Allen, Texas while he attended junior college at Collin County College. He moved out six weeks ago and spent a few nights here while we were out of town. His drivers license and mailing address were at our house in Allen — that connection has made us the focus of media. We are talking only to law enforcement agencies and will not be making further statements to the media. We request the media to honor our privacy.”
The statement did not indicate where Crusius lived after moving out, or how soon before the shooting he was staying at their home alone. The family told the station they are cooperating with the police investigation.
The family friend added, “Of course they’re very distraught with the whole thing, and they’re doing fine. They have some family here. They’re doing OK.”
3. Patrick Crusius’ Dad Is a Mental Health Counselor
I’ve just updated my professional profile on LinkedIn. Connect with me and view my profile. http://t.co/M735uzrgSr #in
Patrick Crusius’ dad, John Bryan Crusius, is a licensed professional therapist at Dallas Addiction Recovery Therapy, also called Infused Being Therapy and Counseling. His Twitter page, LinkedIn Page and website described his therapeutic approach as holistic. It appeared his counseling is focused on addiction recovery.
“I use an integrated treatment approach to all my therapy and counseling,” the website says. “Most therapy sessions run 80 minutes and are a combination of Cognitive Talk Therapy (25-30 minutes) followed by 50 minutes of an eclectic combination of Supportive Energy Therapies (see Supportive Energy Therapies). The combination is tailored to the client’s needs after the Initial Evaluation Session, and is adjusted throughout the treatment process.”
His services include treatment for alcohol, co-dependence, substance abuse and PTSD, the website said. He also wrote a book called “Life Enthusiasm: A Path to Purpose Beyond Recovery.”
His Facebook and Google+ page was deleted. He had only one post on his Twitter page, which was from 2013.
4. Patrick Crusius’ Mom, Lori Lynn Crusius, Called Police Because She Was Concerned About Her Son Owning An AK-47 Style Rifle
The FBI is done collecting evidence from the listed address of the suspected #ElPaso shooter. However, Allen Police are staying on-scene because the family said they would call 911 if any media approached the home. There’s a handful of news crews on site.
Just a few weeks before Crusius allegedly committed a mass shooting, his mother, Lori Lynn Crusius, called police because she was concerned about her son owning an AK-47 style rifle. Her concerns were based on his age, maturity level and experience, not out of a fear he would cause harm, the family’s attorneys, Chris Ayres and R. Jack Ayres told CNN. They described the call as “purely informational” adding there was “absolutely no fear of violence nor any belief of an intent to do harm” prompting her phone call.
Based on her description of the situation, Crusius was legally allowed to purchase the gun, police told her. She did not give police her name or her son’s name, and there was no followup into the call since the purchase was apparently legal. It was not known whether the gun she called about was the firearm used in the attack. Allen police had records of only minor incidents with Crusius. They weree a false burglar alarm at the family’s home, a minor traffic accident involving a bus he was riding and a third when he ran away from home and returned 30 minutes later, CNN reported.
Patrick Crusius’ last known address in Allen, Texas became a subject of interest for both media and law enforcement. The address is where his grandparents, Larry and Cynthia Brown, live in a northern suburb of Dallas, Texas more than 650 miles from El Paso. Crusius had not lived at the house for six weeks before the shooting, his grandparents said in a statement Monday.
Law enforcement converged on the home following the mass shooting, and the FBI collected evidence from the house. They remained on the scene because the family told police they would call 911 if reporters approached the home, according to a local reporter. During a press conference Sunday morning, El Paso Police asked the press to respect the family’s privacy.
“The FBI is done collecting evidence from the listed address of the suspected #ElPaso shooter,” reporter Chris Sadeghi wrote on Twitter. “However, Allen Police are staying on-scene because the family said they would call 911 if any media approached the home. There’s a handful of news crews on site.”
The Browns told local reporters they were cooperating with the police investigation.
5. Patrick Crusius’ Had Moved Out of His Grandparents’ Allen, Texas Home
https://twitter.com/collincollege/status/1157799003263832067/photo/1
Patrick Crusius moved out of his grandparents’ home in Allen, Texas, six weeks before the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, more than 650 miles away. He was living with his grandparents while he attended Collin College, a community college in nearby McKinney, Texas. He moved out six weeks earlier, but stayed at the Allen home for several days while his grandparents were out of town, according to a statement from his grandparents, Larry and Cynthia Brown.
Crusius left Collin College at the end of the spring semester, the college wrote in a statement after the shooting.
“We are saddened and horrified by the shooting today in El Paso, Texas,” it said. “A student by the name of Patrick Crusius attended Collin College from fall 2017 to spring 2019. Collin College is prepared to cooperate fully with state and federal authorities in their investigation of this senseless tragedy. We join the governor and all Texans expressing our heartfelt concern for the victims of the shooting and their loved ones.”
He attended Liberty High School in Frisco, Texas and transferred to Plano Senior High School in Plano, Texas. Frisco, Plano and Allen, Texas are all in the Dallas/Forth Worth area.
Patrick Crusius also has an older brother and a twin sister, according to public records. His mother, Lori Lynn Crusius, filed for divorce in 2011. She works as a nurse, according to PBS.