When Yolanda Tinajero addressed the man who killed her brother and 22 others in a 2019 racist shooting at a Texas Walmart, she didn’t yell or express anger. Instead, she calmly told him she forgave him—and that she wished she could give him a hug.
In a remarkable moment in the El Paso courtroom on Tuesday, the judge allowed her to do exactly that.
The brief embrace between Tinajero and Patrick Crusius, who remained in shackles, became one of the most powerful and emotional scenes during two days of heartfelt impact statements from victims’ families and survivors.
Some spoke of their deep grief and anguish, while others told the gunman that his hatred had only strengthened their community’s unity and love. In another poignant moment, a second individual embraced Patrick Crusius, the man who pleaded guilty in one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings.
Crusius, a white former community college student, had posted an anti-immigrant manifesto online claiming a “Hispanic invasion” of Texas before launching his August 3, 2019, attack with an AK-style rifle at a Walmart near the U.S.-Mexico border. During his plea hearing on Monday, he said nothing to the families or survivors. He now faces multiple life sentences after admitting to capital murder and 22 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Yolanda Tinajero, whose brother Arturo Benavides was among those killed, told Crusius, “We would have opened our doors to you, shared a meal—breakfast, lunch, or dinner—Mexican-style. Maybe then your twisted views of us would have changed.”
Speaking of her brother, a 60-year-old Army veteran and bus driver, Tinajero said he was a “gentle, big-hearted man.” His widow of more than 30 years, she added, is devastated and now lives alone in a house filled with painful memories.
In a rare and deeply emotional courtroom moment, the judge turned to her and asked, “Would a hug bring you peace and comfort?”
“Yes,” she answered—and the judge allowed it.
Her daughter, Melissa Tinajero, later told reporters, “I don’t know how my mother did it. I couldn’t have. But she showed him something he never gave his victims—compassion.”
Others, like Stephanie Melendez, chose not to speak to Crusius directly. Instead, she read a heartfelt letter to her father, David Johnson, who was killed shielding his wife and granddaughter during the shooting.
Her daughter Kaitlyn, now 14, also addressed the court: “I am a survivor, not a victim,” she declared. “I’m going to walk out these doors and move forward with my life—and I won’t let you haunt me anymore.”
‘Disgrace to Humanity’
Dean Reckard, whose 63-year-old mother Margie Reckard was among the victims of the El Paso Walmart massacre, didn’t hold back as he addressed shooter Patrick Crusius in court.
“You’re a disgrace to humanity and your own family,” he said sharply, adding that he hopes Crusius wakes up every day with regret so deep he wishes not to exist.
Yet even through his anger, Reckard extended forgiveness. “To truly be forgiving, you must offer forgiveness,” he said. “That’s why I forgive you. May God show you mercy.”
Margie Reckard’s funeral drew thousands after her longtime partner, Antonio Basco, opened the service to the public, saying he felt completely alone after her passing.
‘It Left Me Sad, Bitter’
Liliana Munoz, a 41-year-old from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, recounted how she was simply shopping for snacks that day when her life was permanently altered. Crusius’ bullets left her physically injured and emotionally scarred.
Once full of life and joy, she now fears each new day. A cane and leg brace help her walk, reminders of the bullet that changed everything.
“Now I wake up afraid.” Still, she too offered him forgiveness.
‘You Brought Us Together’
Javier Rodriguez was only 15 years old, just beginning his sophomore year, when he was killed while at a bank inside the Walmart.
On Tuesday, his father Francisco Rodriguez directly confronted Crusius. “Look at me,” he demanded. “I’m talking to you.”
Rodriguez described the agony of visiting his son’s grave on birthdays instead of celebrating them. “I wish I had five minutes alone with you—to release all of this,” he said, his voice filled with pain.
But even in his heartbreak, he acknowledged the strength El Paso has shown in the aftermath.
“You came here to divide us,” he told Crusius. “But as the judge said yesterday—you only brought us closer together.”