As Walmart reopens, El Paso still grappling with shooting's aftermath

EL PASO, Texas, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The poster boards with messages of support for the border community of El Paso, Texas have been removed from the parking lot gate near this Walmart store -- the site of one of the deadliest mass shootings in Texas history. Gone too are the candles, photographs and rosary beads that for months memorialized the 22 victims of the Aug. 3 attack.

The store is set to reopen Thursday, creating a wave of mixed emotions in a community still grieving from the racially motivated attack by a gunman who said in an online manifesto that he targeted people who looked "Mexican" in his attempt to ward off what he called an invasion of the country.

For people like Edgar Ceniceros, who went to high school a few blocks away and used to eat lunch at the Walmart McDonald's, the store's reopening was inevitable. He hopes returning to the normal hustle and bustle at one of the city's busiest retail centers will mark a return to normalcy. But he knows that it won't be easy at first.

"This is a place where a lot of people died. It's going to be hard," he said from the parking lot of the nearby Sam's store. "Maybe I am going to cry, but we need to keep going, we need to be strong."

Megan Markley, a bartender and trainer at the local Hooter's restaurant, agrees. The eatery and sports bar shares a parking lot with the Walmart and the day of the shooting it served as a place where first responders were offered a brief respite from the summer heat.

The memorial that stood for months was visible from the store's south side window.

"As an employee it was hard to come to work every day and look at [the site]," she said. "I think everybody, in general, needs to move on and kind if put it behind us. We're still together as a community and we support each other."

The City of El Paso moved the memorial to nearby Ponder Park, which was the site of a vigil the day after the shooting. Walmart has started building a permanent memorial on the south end of the store parking lot. It should be completed later this month.

Some of the items at the original memorial have been relocated to the park while others have been warehoused until the city decides where they should be placed. It was at the new memorial site where Jay Elmore, a former truck driver who used to deliver merchandise to the Walmart while working for Bimbo Bakeries, said he understood why some El Pasoans think the store should be torn down.

"For some of the [employees] it's too traumatic," he said. "I guess it depends on the people. Where I stand, maybe they should tear it down."

Several El Pasoans at the nearby bus station or the Sam's parking lot declined to be interviewed and said it was still too difficult to speak about.

State Rep. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, represents the east-central side of town where the Walmart stands. He's acknowledged that he's as torn as his constituents about the reopening of the store, which he used to frequent before the massacre.

"Part of me says we should not allow this white supremacist to create fear in our community, which is why it's important that the Walmart continue to be open," he said. "Why should we live in fear? The other side of me is sympathetic -- people were killed there. It's conflicting and I think that conflict within me is within many El Pasoans, especially many that live in that area."

In the weeks following the shooting, Democratic lawmakers urged immediate action from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Many pushed for a special session of the Legislature to address the state's gun laws, which are some of the least restrictive in the country.

Those calls were amplified after it was revealed that a day before the shooting, Abbott's campaign distributed a fundraising flyer to supporters calling for Texans to defend the state against illegal immigration and "take matters into [their] own hands." A shooting in Midland-Odessa on Aug. 31 that ended with seven killed added to the Democrats' urgency.

Abbott waited for days to address the campaign mailer, and when he did, he drew new criticism for saying "mistakes were made" instead of offering a direct apology.

"I did get the chance to visit with the El Paso delegation and help them understand that mistakes were made and course correction has been made," he said at the time. "We will make sure that we work collaboratively in unification."

On Tuesday, the Texas Democratic Party said in an email that 100 days after the El Paso shooting, Abbott and the state's GOP had done nothing substantial to address gun violence.

"Texans are demanding action to end gun violence and stop the spread of hatred at the hands of white supremacist terrorists. What have Texas Republicans like Greg Abbott done? Nothing," the email states.

When asked about the party's accusations, Abbott spokesman John Wittman responded: "I will point you to the executive orders the governor issued that will close the reporting loopholes that had a direct impact on this shooting, as well as his formation of the Domestic Terrorism Task Force."

The eight executive orders, announced in September, focus on bolstering law enforcement response to shootings and prevention of future shootings by strengthening reporting channels. They also seek to stop communication gaps if law enforcement agencies or members of the public think someone might become violent.

The task force was formed to "analyze and provide advice on strategies to maximize law enforcement's ability to protect against acts of domestic terrorism," according to a statement issued after its creation in August. The governor also formed the Texas Safety Commission to address gun violence.

Blanco, a member of the commission, said the meetings it held were helpful but said lawmakers shouldn't wait until the next legislative session in 2021 to consider making changes to the Texas' gun laws.

"These shootings are going to continue to happen if we don't take action," he said. "My position is that these [meetings] have been productive and informative. But let's not wait until 2021 to take action, let's take action as soon as we conclude [the meetings] in January."

Meanwhile, Becca, who asked to only be identified by her first name, said El Pasoans will move on regardless of what politicians decide to do. Becca, who works at the Sam's store across from the Walmart, said the passage of time has helped her. She hopes it stays that way.

"I don't think we should live in fear," she said. "When the Sam's first reopened, I was scared, I had anxiety, but when you start going day after day, you slowly start healing."

Disclosure: Walmart has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune. Read the original here. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans -- and engages with them - about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.