The Walmart Massacre in El Paso on August 3, 2019, will go down in history as one of the worst acts of senseless violence in Texas. The community’s response will be remembered for its sanctity and love. 

Using a semiautomatic Romanian AK-47 purchased legally, a 21-year-old white supremacist from Dallas killed 23 people and injured 22 others, targeting Hispanic shoppers in the store. He was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences in prison.

To counter the tragedy, the community created three poignant and beautiful memorials to victims. 

Seven granite pillars etched with the names of the 23 deaths from the Walmart shooting are placed around a plaza in Jim Crouch Park (formerly Ponder Park) about 1.5 miles from Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso Credit: Gerald E. McLeod

Five years after the shooting, Albert “Tino” Ortega dedicated August Third Memorial in Jim Crouch Park, 7500 W.H. Burges Dr. Meant to convey the shape of a crown, the seven angled granite pillars are engraved with the names of the victims. In the middle, sitting on top of a star, is a pillar with a poem by local author Gris Muñoz. The crown is surrounded by greenery and 23 lights representing those killed.

Healing Garden in Ascarate Park, 6900 Delta Dr., is as comforting a place as it is sad. The 23 victims are memorialized with bronze plaques on a curved white wall surrounded by greenery, fountains, and an eternal flame. The garden opened on the second anniversary. Each year on the anniversary of the tragedy, the county holds a memorial ceremony at the garden (www.epstrong.org/august-3.php). The 23 names are read followed by the release of 23 paper lanterns.

Four months after the massacre, Walmart unveiled Grand Candela in the parking lot of the Cielo Vista Mall store overlooking I-10 and the city. The 30-foot-tall sculpture is made up of 22 perforated columns (the 23rd victim died after the memorial was built). During the day, the metal structure glimmers in the sunlight. At night, programmed lighting lends a candle-like glow that can be seen by the impacted community on both sides of the border.

On the street side of the “Healing Garden” in Ascarate Park, artists have decorated the curved 10-foot-by-180-foot memorial wall with a mix of high relief and colorful murals that was unveiled in 2024. On the garden side are bronze plaques honoring the 23 victims of one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. Credit: Gerald E. McLeod

1,817th in a series. Everywhere is a day trip from somewhere. Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/day-trips.

This article appears in July 31 • 2026.

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