A Dallas tire shop owner who opened fire on a Muslim-owned business in 2015, killing a man, was sentenced to 37 years in federal prison on Wednesday for federal hate crime charges.
In September, 39-year-old Anthony Paz Torres admitted to federal hate crime charges in connection with the shooting death of one man and the attempted murders of four others during a Christmas Eve 2015 shooting at Omar’s Wheel and Tires, according to a news release from the Justice Department. Paz Torres pleaded guilty to five counts of federal hate crime, as well as one count of use of a firearm for the purpose of committing murder, according to federal prosecutors.
Torres was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison after being found guilty of murder by Dallas County jurors in 2018 for the shooting death of Enrique “Eduardo” Mendoza Jr., 25, who was riding in a car for a tire service outside the tire store.
According to the Justice Department, Torres will be credited with the time he spent in state custody.
According to federal prosecutors, Torres acknowledged making anti-Muslim statements at the tire shop several days prior to the shooting and vowed to “come back.” When he returned to the store, he asked customers whether they were Muslims, prosecutors said. After being accompanied to his car by tire shop workers, Torres opened fire on multiple people and vehicles, prosecutors said. They said Torres opened fire because he thought they were Muslims.
