The suspect in a massacre that left 20 people dead and 26 injured at a crowded Walmart was identified Saturday by two law enforcement officials as Patrick Crusius, 21, of Allen, Texas.

Investigators are reviewing writings shared online in connection with a possible racist motive in the assault, the officials said. El Paso police are investigating the shootings as a possible hate crime.

El Paso police chief Greg Allen said investigators still need to validate whether a so-called “manifesto” circulating online belongs to Crusius.

Crusius was arrested without incident, police said. Officials are currently unauthorised to discuss the investigation publicly, as it is still ongoing.

Texas police, as well as agents from the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were seen outside home in Allen, Texas, that is associated with the suspect Saturday.

Crusius’ family and friends couldn’t be immediately reached Saturday.

Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, said they had no information on Crusius and were unaware of him prior to the shooting.

Crusius graduated high school in 2016, records show. He enrolled in Collin College in the fall of 2017, according to the college, and was enrolled as a student until the spring of 2019.

“We join the governor and all Texans in expressing our heartfelt concern for the victims of the shooting and their loved ones,” the college wrote in a statement published on Twitter.

•Text (excluding headline) courtesy USA Today.

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