Hate crimes on the rise in Texas, data shows

NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) — The sentencing hearing for the Allen man who pleaded guilty to 90 federal charges in the 2019 mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart began Wednesday morning.

Of those charges, half are hate crimes. The shooting was one of the deadliest attacks on Latinos in modern U.S. history, killing 23 people. Authorities say Patrick Crusius drove from Allen to El Paso with the sole intent of killing Mexicans. In his guilty plea, the self-described white nationalist admitted to writing an anti-immigrant manifesto and uploading it to the internet minutes before the attack. 

As a result of the guilty plea, federal prosecutors are recommending 90 consecutive life sentences for the suspect, instead of the death penalty.

It has been nearly four years since the El Paso mass shooting, and hate crimes in Texas are still on the rise according to Texas Department of Public Safety data first reported by the Texas Observer.

In 2022, Texas DPS recorded 549 hate crimes, a 6.4% increase from 2021. 

The offenses included two murders, 66 aggravated assaults and 143 simple assaults last year. But they also included crimes like intimidation and vandalism.

The majority of these crimes took place at a home or residence.

When it comes to who was targeted, 371 crimes were committed against a person based on race, ethnicity or religion—with the majority being anti-Black. Sixty crimes were committed against the LGBTQ community.

Texas DPS collects hate crime data through its Uniform Crime System (UCR.) It is a voluntary program and participating agencies submit data monthly. Learn more here.