A non-profit organization in El Paso, Texas, has partnered with local funeral homes to provide free funerals to the22 fatal victimsofSaturday’s mass shooting in a local Walmart.
Angel Gomez, of Operation H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Endure),told ABC on Sundaythat all costs will be covered, including those for Mexican nationals.
“We have 22 victims. We will be providing their funeral services, not only in the El Paso area, but we’re going to be sending the bodies once they get embalmed to Juarez, Mexico, Torreon and Chihuahua. And this is all done at no cost to the families,” Gomez said.
He added, “As I say, this is how El Paso rolls — as one. We are one community.”
TheEl Paso Timesreportsthat participating funeral homes include: Evergreen East Funeral Home, Mt. Carmel Funeral Home, Sunset Funeral Homes, Perches Funeral Homes, Martin Funeral Homes, Restlawn Funeral Homes, Crestview Funeral Homes, Hillcrest Funeral Homes and San Jose Funeral Home.
John Locher/AP/Shutterstock
A Facebook postannouncing several partnerships on the Operation H.O.P.E. Facebook page reads, in part, “We are all about team work. We are never able to do things alone. We are truly fortunate so many El Paso agencies are coming together to show their love and support through this difficult time.”
The suspect inSaturday’s shooting, which also injured 27 people, is Patrick Crusius, 21, of Allen, Texas, a Dallas suburb more than 600 miles from El Paso. Police said the suspect drove about 10 hours to the site of the shooting and surrendered to responding police officers.
Mark Lambie/El Paso Times via Imagn Content Services, LLC/USA Today Network/Sipa
At a Saturday press conference, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar said, “El Paso has historically been a very safe community. This is someone who came from outside our community to do us harm.”
The New York Timesreported earlier this yearthat El Paso, a city with a population of about 650,000, has consistently had a lower crime rate than cities of a similar size, according to FBI data.
source: people.com
