The family of a woman killed in the Aug. 3 Walmart mass shooting filed a lawsuit against the suspected shooter, his family and the website where he is believed to have posted a racist, hate-filled manifesto minutes before allegedly killing 22 people.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in El Paso district court and is the first lawsuit to be filed against the parents and grandparents of the suspected shooter Patrick Crusius, 21, or the 8chan anonymous online message board, said El Paso attorney James Scherr, who is representing the family of Angelina Englisbee.

"The (Englisbee) family seeks this lawsuit to stop the hate, to send a message to people who are going to travel 600 miles or 1 mile to injure, maim or kill someone because of their national origin, their background, their religion, whatever the case may be, just because they live hate," Scherr said.

In addition to John Bryan Crusius, Lori Lynn Crusius, Larry P. Brown and Cynthia B. Brown, the suit names three individuals and companies associated with 8chan as responsible for Crusius' actions Aug. 3.

These individuals include James A. Watkins of Sagle, Idaho, who does business as Pacific Internet Exchange, LLC and N T Technology, Inc.; Matthew Prince of San Francisco, who is co-founder and chief executive officer of Cloudflare Inc.; and Frederick Brennan of Atlantic City, New Jersey, according to the original petition filed Tuesday.

Police believe alleged shooter posted manifesto to 8chan

Brennan started 8chan in 2013 and stopped working with Watkins, the site's current owner in 2018, according to The New York Times. The site was shut down Aug. 4 after its service provider Cloudflare decided to stop working with it in the wake of the shooting.

The petition alleges that Patrick Crusius, Brennan, Watkins, Prince and Cloudflare "publically [sic] and privately encouraged, promoted, incited, encouraged and inspired 'white racist nationalism', 'nationalism', 'Nazism', and ideological racist fervor, as an unincorporated association, to unite together to fight this 'invasion' of minorities, particularly persons of Hispanic descent."

El Paso police believe Crusius posted a four page-long hate-filled rant to 8chan at 10:15 a.m. Aug. 3 that railed against an "invasion" by immigrants to the United States and a political takeover of Texas.

The petition also names "John Does 1 through Unknown" as defendants, and Scherr said he has subpoenaed Crusius' computer and cellphone so he can identify who Crusius was in communication with leading up to the shooting and who may have helped Crusius travel from Allen, Texas, to El Paso. The attorney said he anticipates subpoenaing 8chan for evidence.

While the petition seeks a jury trial to determine whether the defendants are liable for damages amounting to more than $1 million, Scherr said the case is not one the Englisbee family is "looking at trying to settle or get money out of."

"We're trying to set a new standard that those people can lose everything financially they have that is attachable to them by law if they are going to do this type of activity," Scherr said.

This also includes the families of mass shooters he said, noting "many times, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

The petition states Crusius' parents and grandparents, with whom he was living at the time of the shooting, were negligent "in fostering an environment which encouraged hate crimes" and "in allowing weapons in the home where Crusius resides, despite knowing of his dangerous propensities."

Chris Ayres, the Dallas-based attorney representing the Crusius family, said he did not have a comment at this time on Tuesday's lawsuit.

In an Aug. 6 statement to the Wall Street Journal, John and Lori Crusius said their son's actions "were apparently influenced and informed by people we do not know, and from ideas and beliefs we do not accept or condone."

More:'We are devastated': El Paso shooting suspect's grandparents issue statement

Family thought shooting victim would have 'lived to be 100'

86-year-old Angelina Englisbee, who was known as "Angie" to family and friends, drove herself to Walmart Aug. 3 to buy food and school supplies for her grandchildren, her family said.

"We thought she would have lived to be 100," said her daughter, Edith Hallberg. "I wanted her picture on the news, (that said) 'shout out to Angie Englisbee, she's 100 today,' and that's not going to happen. It's just too sad."

Englisbee had seven children, 25 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. Her son, William Englisbee, described his mother — who everyone affectionately called "Mom" — as the family's rock.

His hope is that families of the other victims will join their lawsuit, he said.

"Hate is not something that we're born with," William Englisbee said. "It festered and brewed inside this guy somehow, someway. He came to El Paso with a lot of malice, a lot of evil, the intent to hurt, and my mom was in the way and murdered.

"I just want it to stop."

Molly Smith may be reached at 546-6413; mksmith@elpasotimes.com; @smithmollyk on Twitter.

Stay up-to-date on everything involved with the El Paso shooting. Subscribe here.

El Paso shooting related:

Walmart offers glimpse at memorial for mass shooting victims, reopening pushed back

El Paso shooting update: Here are five things to know

El Paso shooter trial moving forward; here's what can happen next