US authorities are investigating the shootings in El Paso that left 22 people dead as a possible case of “domestic terrorism”. How big a threat is this kind of terror and how is the US combating it?
Police believe the white suspect, Patrick Crusius, drove hundreds of miles across Texas to a Hispanic-majority city to carry out his attack.
He is believed to be the author of a document posted minutes before the shooting which said the attack was “a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas”.
In a statement, the FBI said the attack “underscores the continued threat posed by domestic violent extremists and perpetrators of hate crimes”.
It also said it was concerned that “US-based domestic violent extremists could become inspired by these and previous high-profile attacks to engage in similar acts of violence”.
Last month, the FBI said this kind of violence was on the rise and most of it was motivated by some form of white supremacist ideology.
So how big a problem is it?
Right-wing extremists were linked to at least 50 killings in 2018, making it one of the worst years in terms of right-wing violence since 1995, according to researchers with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organisation that…
