The man accused of carrying out the deadly mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, USA on August 3, has confessed to officers while he was surrendering and later explained that he had been targeting Mexicans, authorities say, KTLA reported.

Patrick Crusius, 21, emerged with his hands up from a vehicle that was stopped at an intersection shortly after the attack and told officers, “I’m the shooter,” Detective Adrian Garcia said in an arrest warrant affidavit.

Crusius later agreed to speak with detectives, telling them he entered the store with an AK-47 assault rifle and multiple magazines, and that he was targeting Mexicans.

Twenty-two people were killed and about two dozen were injured in the shooting. Most of the dead had Hispanic last names and eight were Mexican nationals.