Hundreds of students and teachers gathered at a high school to honor a 15-year-old victim of the El Paso gun rampage last night as vigils were held across Texas to remember the 22 dead.
Javier Rodriguez, 15, was one week into his sophomore year at Horizon High School – where he played on the soccer team – when he was killed in the Texas massacre on Saturday.
Mourners filled the high school’s athletics ground at twilight where superintendent Juan Martinez called the teenager ‘just a young man full of life, running in this same stadium we’re in now’.
‘He didn’t deserve to die in a tragedy like this,’ he said.
In memoriam: Mourners gather at a vigil for Javier Rodriguez at Horizon High School’s athletics ground in Texas two days after he was one of 22 people killed in the Walmart gun rampage in El Paso
Mourners: Horizon High School students and community members hold up flashlights as darkness falls over the athletics ground, in memory of Javier Rodriguez who played soccer at the school
Gathering: Mourners hold up candles at a vigil by an El Paso shopping complex on Monday night, one of several such events in memory of the 22 victims
Honoring their memory: A girl and a young woman hold up candles at an evening prayer vigil outside Immanuel Baptist Church, near the scene of the mass shooting on Saturday
Victim: Javier Rodriguez (pictured), 15, died in the Walmart shooting in El Paso on Saturday
During the ceremony Javier’s parents and sister were invited onto a stage, where they released a white dove into the clear evening sky.
A group of teachers released another 21 doves, one for each of the other victims, ranging in age from 23 to 90, most of them with Hispanic surnames.
Authorities have said they are investigating the rampage as a hate crime, citing a racist, anti-immigrant manifesto posted online shortly before the shooting, which they attributed to the suspect, Patrick Crusius.
In it, the author called the Walmart attack ‘a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas’.
Martinez said, ‘Apparently, Javier was a target because of the color of his skin. Javier did not choose the color of his skin, nor did I, nor did you.’
The service for Javier was one of several vigils held in El Paso in the wake of the shooting, which has sparked fresh debate about guns and race in America.
One candlelit prayer vigil took place outside Immanuel Baptist Church near the scene of the massacre.
A community coming together: Students and friends of Horizon High School use their phones as flashlights at the vigil for Javier Rodriguez on Monday evening in Texas
Sad occasion: Mourners embrace and hold their candles as they gather for a vigil at a shopping complex in El Paso last night
Emotional: A tearful Horizon High School band member is comforted by a friend during the vigil in honor of their classmate Javier Rodriguez who was killed in El Paso
Tragedy: A young girl holds up a candle at one of the vigils last night. The suspect, Patrick Crusius, remains in custody
Embrace of emotion: Families of Walmart shooting victims share a hug during a candlelit vigil at the Immanuel Church
Lit up: A woman’s face is illuminated by her candle during an evening vigil for the Walmart shooting victims in El Paso
Police have charged 21-year-old Patrick Crusius with capital murder, saying he drove more than 10 hours to El Paso from his hometown near Dallas.
The death toll in El Paso rose to 22 on Monday after two more victims of the shooting rampage died of their injuries.
Fifteen people remain in hospital, including two in critical condition, police say.
Authorities are examining an anti-immigrant manifesto posted online, apparently by Crusius, which appears to show that the massacre was racially motivated.
It also expressed support for a gunman who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March.
Eight of those killed in the attack were Mexican citizens, according to Mexico’s government.
Siblings: Olivia Attaguile holds her brother Jonny Attaguile during a candlelight vigil for victims in El Paso last night
Venue: People hug and pray outside the Immanuel Church in the wake of the mass shooting, one of two last weekend
Family moment: Angie Attaguile rests her head on her husband, Ray Attaguile’s shoulder as they embrace their children during a candlelight vigil for victims in El Paso
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Saturday’s rampage appeared to be a hate crime and federal prosecutors called it domestic terrorism.
A Texas prosecutor said the state will seek the death penalty against Crusius if he is convicted.
President Donald Trump yesterday said Americans ‘must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy’ and blamed the internet and violent video games for fostering violence.
U.S. gun control activists say the internet and video games cannot be blamed because they are also are popular in countries where mass shootings are virtually unknown, in part because it is harder to obtain firearms.
The suspect’s grandparents said in a statement read to reporters by a family member outside their home in the Dallas suburb of Allen, 650 miles east of El Paso, that they were devastated by the attack.
‘He lived with us in our house in Allen, Texas, while he attended Collin College,’ they said. ‘He moved out of our house six weeks ago and has spent a few nights here while we were out of town.’
Young mourners: Horizon High School students take their seats at the vigil for Javier Rodriguez on Monday evening
Linking hands: People pray a makeshift memorial for victims of the Walmart shooting outside the sprawling shopping center
Tributes: People pay their respects at a makeshift memorial for victims of Walmart shooting that left a total of 22 people dead