As tensions rise in the lead-up to the much-anticipated trial of the Walmart mass shooting suspect, a tangle of legal maneuvers has begun to reshape the pre-trial landscape. A surprising detail emerged, revealing that one of the victims who survived the tragic 2019 shooting in El Paso had been caught with a firearm in the county courthouse the previous year. According to an El Paso County Sheriff’s Office report, the 39-year-old man was briefly detained and then released after officials discovered a 9 mm handgun in a diaper bag he carried. The discovery, made on October 12, 2023, raised security concerns, but the District Attorney’s Office decided against prosecuting, as obtained by El Paso Matters.