Mexican PM urges US to tighten gun control as El Paso death toll rises

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called Monday for the United States to "control the indiscriminate sale of weapons" after a shooting in Texas left eight Mexicans dead.

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador  calls on the US to "control the indiscriminate sale of weapons" after 8 Mexicans were killed in a mass shooting.

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador calls on the US to "control the indiscriminate sale of weapons" after 8 Mexicans were killed in a mass shooting. Source: AAP

The death toll from a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, rose to 22 after two more victims died in hospital Monday, police said.

One of the victims "passed early this morning at the hospital" while the second died just after 10am, the city's police department said on Twitter.

It comes as Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called for the United States to "control the indiscriminate sale of weapons" after the Texas shooting left eight Mexicans dead.

A gunman opened fire with an assault rifle on Saturday at a Walmart store in El Paso, which is located near the border with Mexico, killing a total of 22 people and wounding more than two dozen.

Emma Del Valle hugs Brenda Castaneda at a make shift memorial in El Paso.
Emma Del Valle hugs Brenda Castaneda at a make shift memorial in El Paso. Source: AAP


Mr Lopez Obrador said neither Republicans nor Democrats in the US have done enough to protect people from mass shootings.

"If we look at things objectively, we have to say that the two main US parties have given little attention to gun control," Mr Lopez Obrador said in his morning press conference.



While Democratic politicians have long pushed for stricter firearms regulations, they have been stymied by Republicans with backing from the powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby.

"We're very respectful of what other governments decide, but we feel that these unfortunate events in the United States require reflection, analysis and the decision to control the indiscriminate sale of weapons," Mr Lopez Obrador said.

Greg Zanis prepares crosses to place at a makeshift memorial for victims of a mass shooting at a shopping complex Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Greg Zanis prepares crosses to place at a makeshift memorial for victims of a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. Source: AAP


He said his government was studying the possibility of accusing the suspected shooter, named in US media as 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, of "terrorism" and requesting his extradition to face charges in Mexico.

Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard met with the families of the Mexican victimson Monday.




He named the victims as Sara Esther Regalado, Adolfo Cerros Hernandez, Jorge Calvillo Garcia, Elsa Mendoza de la Mora, Gloria Irma Marquez Juarez, Maria Eugenia Legarreta Rothe, Ivan Filiberto Manzano and Juan de Dios Velazquez Chairez.

El Paso is a US city of 680,000 people, some 83 percent of whom are Hispanic, and it borders Mexico's Ciudad Juarez.


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Source: AFP, SBS

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