The video will start in 8 Cancel

News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

At least 20 people have been killed and 26 others wounded in the deadliest mass shooting in the US this year.

Shoppers fled for their lives on Saturday after a gunman opened fire in the car park of a busy Walmart supermarket before storming the store and shooting "aisle to aisle", according to reports.

Governor Greg Abbott described it as "one of the most deadly days in the history of Texas".

The massacre happened near the Cielo Vista Mall, a few miles from the US-Mexican border, in El Paso at 10:39am local time.

A 21-year-old man is in custody after police responded within six minutes. Police said the suspect was a resident of the Dallas-area city of Allen, about 650 miles (1,046km) east of El Paso.

He has been named as Patrick Crusius.

CCTV images said to be of the gunman show a man in a dark T-shirt wearing ear protectors and brandishing an assault-style rifle.

Mexico's president Manuel Lopez Obrador said three Mexicans were among the dead and six were among the wounded.

Have you been affected by this story? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk

(Image: IVAN PIERRE AGUIRRE/EPA-EFE/REX)

Eyewitnesses described hearing a noise that sounded like balloons popping, before seeing the shooter in the store.

Kianna Long, who was at the Walmart with her husband, told Reuters people were running for their lives.

“People were panicking and running, saying that there was a shooter...They were running close to the floor, people were dropping on the floor,” she said.

Mrs Long and her husband sprinted through a stock room at the back of the store before sheltering with other customers in a steel container in a shipping area.

Distressing CCTV footage posted to social media showed a man gunning people down in a Walmart car park before entering the store.

Children, including a four-month-old baby, are reported to be among those dead and injured.

(Image: REUTERS)

Ryan Mielke, a University Medical Center hospital spokesman, said 12 people were rushed to the hospital, one of whom died.

All of the victims suffered traumatic injuries.

Two children, aged two and nine, were stabilized at the medical center before being transferred to the neighboring El Paso children’s hospital.

Del Sol Medical Center said it was treating 11 other patients. The victims have not been named.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

The Walmart store was busy with families shopping for the new school year. Police estimated there were up to 3000 customers and 100 staff in the store.

President Donald Trump tweeted about the “terrible shootings” that were “very bad, many killed”, adding: “God be with you all!”

Victor Gamboa, 18, who works at the McDonald’s inside the Walmart, told the New York Times: “We heard shots and saw smoke.

“I saw a man on the floor full of blood. He appeared to be dead. It happened very quickly.”

(Image: IVAN PIERRE AGUIRRE/EPA-EFE/REX)

El Paso’s police chief described the shooting as a capital crime, for which a person convicted could receive the death penalty in Texas.

The police and FBI are investigating whether an anonymous white nationalist "manifesto", shared on an online forum, was written by the gunman.

The document says the attack was targeted at the local Hispanic community.

The attack came less than a week after a teenage gunman killed three people at a California food festival.

The Texas shooting has been dubbed the eighth deadliest in modern US history.

The medical response has been described by local press as 'huge'.

Three Walmart employees took refuge at a Landry's Seafood house, restaurant manager Oscar Collazo told CNN.

"We never thought it would be so close to us this time," Collazo said.

"You see on the news all the time, but you don't think it could happen here until it does."

People have been advised to stay away from the area and the mall has been placed on lockdown.

Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso, said on Twitter she was "heartbroken" by the incident and was monitoring the situation.

Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate responded to the news of the shooting on Twitter.

"Truly heartbreaking. Stay safe, El Paso. Please follow directions of emergency personnel as we continue to get more updates," he wrote.

Walmart tweeted: "We're in shock over the tragic events at Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, where store 2201 & club 6502 are located.

"We’re praying for the victims, the community & our associates, as well as the first responders. We’re working closely with law enforcement & will update as appropriate."

The shooting comes just days after two people were shot and killed in a Walmart store in Southhaven, Mississippi, south of Memphis, and the same week that three people were shot and killed at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California.