21-year-old Patrick Crusius, who opened fire at a Walmart store in El Paso on August 3 targeting Mexicans, killing 22 people and injuring 24 others, faces the death penalty in the U.S.
According to France 24, López Obrador, a self-defined anti-establishment leftist, has vehemently condemned the shooter's "reprehensible, abominable" crimes, but does not want to see him put to death.
"Our constitution does not allow the death penalty," he said, telling a press conference that: "We do not want the death penalty either, as a matter of conviction."
The president added that he has "given the instructions to explore the possibility of requesting this person's extradition [to Mexico]."
The shooting, which comes at a time of political tension between the U.S. and Mexico, has led to a wave of criticism toward America's southern neighbor. The country has been a frequent target of attacks by President Donald Trump since the beginning of his campaign.
Following the shooting, Trump has been accused of sparking hatred and inciting violence in the United States after Crusius published a manifesto saying that a large Hispanic population in Texas will make it a "Democratic stronghold."
According to an article published in The Guardian, Crusius echoed Trump's language in his manifesto, saying the attack is a "response to the Hispanic invasion" of Texas.
The Mayor of Tijuana, Mexico, just stated that “the City is ill-prepared to handle this many migrants, the backlog could last 6 months.” Likewise, the U.S. is ill-prepared for this invasion, and will not stand for it. They are causing crime and big problems in Mexico. Go home!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2018
A document that accuses the Democratic Party of trying to "own" the country, reads: "[the Democrats] intend to use open borders, free healthcare for illegals, citizenship and more to enact a political coup by importing and then legalizing millions of new voters," echoing Trump's tweet from July 27, a week before the shooting.
Democrats don’t care about Border Security. They refuse to give the votes necessary to fix the Loopholes and Asylum. Would be so easy! They want Open Borders, which means CRIME,CRIME,CRIME!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2019