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April 4 (UPI) -- A Texas man who fatally shot one person and threatened the lives of at least four others at a Muslim-owned tire dealer and repair shop on Christmas Eve in 2015 has been sentenced to 37 years in prison, the Justice Department said. Anthony Paz Torres, 39, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in September to five federal hate crime counts for the Dec. 24, 2015, mass shooting at Omar's Wheels and Tires in Dallas.
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"As this sentence makes clear, hate crimes fueled by Islamophobia, or by bias of any kind, will be met with the full force of the Justice Department," Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday in a statement.
"No person in this country should have to live in fear because of who they are, what they look like or how they pray."
Prosecutors said Torres visited the shop days before the shooting on Dec. 17, 2015.
In his plea agreement, Torres admitted to making anti-Muslim comments that day and vowing to return.
On Dec. 24, 2015, Torres returned to the store, pulled out a gun and started shooting, fatally striking bystander Enrique Garcia Mendoza as he was sitting in a vehicle outside.
One of the store's employees was also armed and returned fire, hitting Torres.
In July 2018, Torres was convicted for killing Mendoza by a Dallas County jury and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
The sentence handed down Wednesday includes credit for time served in state custody, and, according to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, ensures he will be held accountable for "the hate-fueled, Islamophobic violence he inflicted on the victims in this case."
"No person in the United States should fear that they will be the target of violence because of their religion," Clarke said.
"The Justice Department will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute such hate crimes."
