NEVER AGAIN

Walmart Hires Off-Duty Officers for Re-Opening of El Paso Where Gunman Killed 22 People

The store where 22 people were killed in August will reopen without ceremony on Thursday, with guards keeping watch.

Walmart has brought in off-duty police officers for Thursday’s re-opening of the store in El Paso, Texas, where a gunman who allegedly targeted Mexicans opened fire in August and killed 22 people. The store is scheduled to reopen its doors Thursday amid lawsuits over safety. There was no guard in the store on the day of the mass shooting. Walmart spokeswoman Delia Garcia said the reopening will happen unceremoniously after a meeting with employees, but didn’t comment on safety issues. “There was a time that Walmart hired off-duty officers and for some time prior [to] August 3rd that ceased,” said El Paso Police spokesman Enrique Carrillo. Walmart is reportedly hiring off-duty officers at their stores across the city, not just at the store where the massacre happened. Police say suspect Patrick Crusius drove more than 10 hours from his grandparents’ house in a Dallas suburb to carry out the attack. Crusius, 21, has pleaded not guilty.