Man Sentenced to 37 Years for Shooting Targeted at Muslims

From a Justice Department press release yesterday:

A Dallas man was sentenced today to 37 years in prison, with credit for time served in state custody, following his guilty plea to hate crime charges arising out of a fatal shooting at a car repair shop.

On Sept. 14, 2023, Anthony Paz Torres, 39, pleaded guilty to five federal hate crime counts for killing one individual and attempting to kill four others during a mass shooting at Omar's Wheels and Tires in Dallas on Dec. 24, 2015. Torres also pleaded guilty to one count of using a firearm to commit the murder….

According to court documents, Torres admitted that a few days prior to the shooting, he went to Omar's Wheels and Tires, made anti-Muslim comments, and pledged that he would come back. When he returned to the business on Dec. 24, 2015, Torres asked customers if they were Muslim. After being escorted back to his vehicle by Omar's Wheels and Tires employees, Torres discharged his firearm in the direction of multiple employees and customers. Torres admitted that he killed one person and attempted to kill four other people at Omar's Wheels and Tires because he believed that they were Muslim.

Just to be clear, the man who was killed was apparently a bystander (not that this affects the moral or legal gravity of the attack). Also, it turns out that Paz Torres had already been convicted of murder in Texas, and sentenced to 35 years in prison (Dallas Morning-News [Zaeem Shaikh]). "A spokesperson for the attorney's office said the sentences will run concurrently and do account for time served in state custody."

Thanks to Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) for the pointer.