'I want you dead': Survivors of El Paso shooting address gunman in court

Survivors and family of those killed in the August 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, Texas spoke directly to the gunman for the first time on Wednesday.

"I want you dead. I hate you so much," said Genesis Davila, 16, at a tense sentencing hearing for Patrick Crusius.

The teenager's soccer coach Memo Garcia was among the 23 people killed.

The attacker, who pled guilty to 90 charges in February, will be sentenced to 90 consecutive terms in prison as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

The deal, which included hate crimes and firearms offences, allowed the 24-year-old killer to avoid the death penalty. But he still faces charges from state prosecutors in Texas who have said they will seek capital punishment.

The gunman drove 11 hours to a Walmart in the border city of El Paso on 3 August 2019 to spray shoppers with bullets after posting a hate-filled rant about a "Hispanic invasion" online. It was one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history, with victims ranging from a 15-year-old school athlete to several grandparents.

In federal court on Wednesday, the attacker showed little emotion throughout the two-hour sentencing hearing, where the loved ones of his victims delivered moving impact statements, calling him a "monster", "killer", and a "parasite".

"Why is it us in pain and not you?" said Genesis Davila. The teenager had been raising money with her soccer team outside the Walmart when the shooting began. The attack injured her father and mother and killed her coach. "No one invited you to our quiet city," she said.

"You're a stupid coward. You deserve to suffer in jail and then burn in hell," said Thomas Hoffmann, whose father Gerhard Alexander Hoffman was shot and killed.

"You killed my father in such a cowardly way", Mr Hoffman said. "He was not a racist like you."

Mr Hoffman held up photos of his father and asked the gunman to look at them. Crusius, shackled by his hands and feet, refused, according to El Paso Matters.

Another woman, Stephanie Melendez, spoke of her daughter's devastation after watching her grandfather, David Johnson, 63, shot dead.

"How am I supposed to help a child who saw her grandfather murdered?" Ms Melendez asked.

"I speak for all the daughters who lost their fathers," she said. "In your act of hatred, you stole a good man from this world… he will be remembered but you will not."

Her daughter, Kaitlyn, also spoke, accompanied by a service dog. "I hope you get what you deserve. I was nine years old when you took away my childhood; because of you, every person with a backpack that I see is a threat," she said. "I shall not ever forgive you."

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for three days, and is expected to continue through Friday. When asked by the judge if he wanted to make a statement himself, the gunman declined.

More than 50 victims and relatives of those murdered were in court on Wednesday, though it is unclear how many more will choose to speak.

The attacker still faces 23 capital murder charges in state court, which could see him sentenced to death if convicted. No date has yet been set for his state trial.